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the-darklings · 3 years

Text

—𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞;

⤫ pairing: johnny silverhand x corp!v(ermillion)

⤫ summary: Usually, they’re a calamity together—destructive and volatile as each other. But right now, just for a second, there is only music and them.

⤫ word count: 2.3k+

⤫ warnings: spoilers for act i & side mission the ballad of buck ravers, third person but can be read as RI ig, swearing, written in one sitting so who knows what the final result is - certainly not me.

⤫ notes: let me leave my clown shoes outside.

It starts out the way it always does.

One ring leads to another and she suddenly finds herself running or driving around the Night City with little to no rest, pulling one job after another. The more jobs she closes the more she seems to be in demand.

Good for business. Good for making a name for herself, too, but not so good on her overall being.

She’s been running. Like a fucking coward. Filing her days with meaningless shit while trying desperately not to think about her ticking clock. About Jackie.

Guilt gnaws on her bones daily. She should have done more, been better, more careful. Jackie never should have died. It was stupid and blind ambition that drove them both to try and pull this near impossible heist in the first place. Her own reckless drive has blinded her, and now the person closest to her in this fucking city is nothing more than a cold corpse.

Fuck.

She should have sent him to his family instead. She only wanted to spare them from the grief of having to see Jackie in the state he was in but now Araska has his body and god knows what those assholes might be doing with it.

And now…

Well she has nothing to lose, does she? She’s already dying, already hunted, her only close friend is dead. She promised to make him proud. Make it to the big leagues or make a league all on her own if that’s what it takes. Bleed this city dry if that’s the price to pay for what she wants.

Back when she worked for Arasaka she wanted knowledge which led to power. Then she wanted guns and money and a roof over her head.

Now she wants something more. After coming face to face with her own fragile morality, she has begun to realise how meaningless things like money and power are. Now she wants to surpass that. To become something immortal—something that will outlive her body. Maybe even outlive this city.

Jackie should have been one of such people.

“You look like you’re about to shit yourself,” a voice drawls from beside her, a crackle filling the air as a too familiar silhouette of a man appears in her sight. “Or cry.”

“Fuck off.”

V turns away from one Johnny Silverhand because it’s hard to look at him and not be reminded of the fact that she’s slowly dying and the construct only she can see and hear is the one doing the deed.

“This self-pitying bullshit needs to stop,” he says, ignoring her vicious words. “We share a brain, remember? I feel what you feel. It’s downright depressing in your head right now.”

Her jaw clicks at the reminder. Everyday she wakes up and feels like they’re linked by a bridge—he stands on one side, and she on another. When they come closer, she can feel it—feel him. The overlap is near dizzying, overwhelming, even a little addictive. But it’s always followed by agony because she fights back, tries to shove him away. If not, he will consume her, but she will get him out of her head before that ever happens.

You share a brain now, Vik had told her only days prior, his eyebrows knitted tight and—albeit subdued—but clear worry in his low voice, senses and memories, even perception. Eventually it will become impossible to tell whose who anymore.

The worst thing is the fact that he’s right.

She can feel Silverhand rooted inside her; a constant, a presence that is persistent to a point she knows she’s not alone even if she wishes to be.

An echo of a being deep inside her.

“Then get the hell out,” she bites back, fighting to keep her temper leashed so she doesn’t burst out at him like she did at the diner. She can still remember the wary stares she received from the diners when she started shouting verbally at a figment only she could perceive in the first place. “I didn’t ask for a parasite to make himself home in my brain.”

Johnny scoffs under his breath, raising a cigarette to his mouth, and she’s nearly overcome with need to remind him that he’s fucking dead, and can’t smoke. That, and the fact that she would prefer him to leave her the fuck alone.

“You did the job, didn’t ya? You sure you didn’t have this comin’?”

Flipping him off, she storms past him, her jaw clenched to appoint it aches and eyes narrowed. Just her luck not only to get stuck with a human tumour but for the said tumour to be a bastard to boot.

So much for being buddies.

Sun has set over Westbrook hours ago yet Chinatown is as busting with life as always. Overflowing with conversations all spoken in different languages, smells, distant gunshots, and people from all walks of life just trying to survive. Even during her years with the Arasaka, she never quite got used to the vastness of the Night City—not even when she was sure she was at the top. The way this city seems to breathe and fester day in and out; a living beast full of dangers and potential is unique.

Lost in the crowd, it’s almost easy to forget who she is aside from another face in the said crowd. She’s not a merc, not an ex-corp working counterintelligence—she’s not anything.

Her optics catch sight of several Tiger Claws lingering around the market, and she makes sure to give them a wide berth, especially when she notes the impressive list of their stats. She’s not stupid enough to attack outright when they outclass her—for now—and there are several of them around. With the market this busy the only outcome to that fight would be a bloodbath with police on her ass when that’s the last thing she needs right now.

Despite that logical part inside her steering her well clear of the gang members the need to blow off some steam bubbles under her skin. An ache starts to form against her temple soon after, making her focus blur around the edges as she wanders from vendor to vendor aimlessly.

“Hey, V,” a rumble of a voice cuts through her thoughts—and she hates how she can’t quite ignore his voice unlike everyone else—and turns her head in the direction of the call. She had foolishly assumed he was going to give her some peace of mind for tonight at least. “Check this guy out.”

Walking up a dimly lit staircase, she had barely noticed a man sitting on a rickety chair and playing a guitar. Much like her, others walk right past him, ignoring the man altogether.

Johnny glimmers into sight, squatting in place and oddly intent on observing the old man while he plays.

She entertains the idea of walking away simply to piss him off. If something is of interest to him, then she wants to ignore it so hard it gets under his nonexistent skin. Petty, perhaps, but ever so satisfying.

Hearing no reply or receiving much reaction at all, Johnny slants his head her way, nodding once towards the man, “What do you think?”

Squinting, she drags her gaze towards the guitarist, crossing her arms over her chest while she listens. She’s not even sure why she’s bothering but…

The melody is slow, near drowned out by the bustling sounds of the nearby market and chatter of people walking past.

“He’s...fine?” she offers lamely. “I mean he’s pretty good.”

A slight smirk crosses over Johnny’s mouth—gone in a blink but the focus he places on the man who seems to be unaware of her or the silent second spectator surprises her.

“Loses tempo more than he keeps it,” he comments, almost absently, and she feels her eyebrows arch in another show of bewilderment. A quiet spells falls over their little nook, and Johnny listens more, thoughts rolling inside his head if his body language is any sign. “Sloppy on the technique but he has feeling in the way he plays. Can’t teach that.”

“If only you didn’t die,” she sighs softly, closing her eyes in mock sympathy. “This could have been you.”

He surprises her again by laughing at that. It’s a deep rumble of a sound, and she can almost feel it echo between them and their mental bridge. “You’re kinda of a bitch. Has anyone told you that before?”

Her teeth flash in the dim orange glow of the neon lights. “And you’re sort of a dick. Anyone tell you that before?” she wonders with a charming, practiced smile.

He flickers out of sight and she’s about to call it a mental victory but a tickle of electricity kisses across the bare curve of her shoulder and neck, and she shivers when he appears beside her. His arms are crossed as well, and he glances her way briefly.

“Seems to me like we’re two peas in a fuckin’ pot, then,” he points out easily, and shakes his head, seemingly amused by his own words. “I might have tried to kill you a few weeks ago but look at us being chummy, Ver.”

Her throat closes up at that, expression tightening. He notices of course. Or maybe it’s the unease that slices through her mind at the casual way he uses her nickname.

“What? Am I not allowed to call you that or somethin’?” he wonders curiously, seemingly entertained by her reaction. Asshole.

“Only my friends call me Ver.”

Jackie was the first.

That thought makes her swallow painfully, a dull ache clawing against her heart. One would think that years being a corpo would have wiped whatever humanity still lived in her but Jackie’s death had been a stark reminder that she couldn’t be further from the truth if she tried.

“Why?”

She gives him a flat look. “Because my full name is Vermillion, but people tend to find it a mouthful so…”

“Vermillion,” he repeats, his intonation dry, and she shoots him a quick glare, daring him to make an issue of it. Naturally, his next words don’t surprise her, “That’s a stupid fuckin’ name.”

“Oh, because Johnny Silverhand is so much better.”

She expects him to say something snarky in return, argue maybe, but he only snorts. His metal hand lifts, pushing his aviators down slightly as he glances at her over them.

“You got me there.”

Usually, they’re a calamity together—destructive and volatile as each other. But right now, just for a second, there is only music and them. Shadows and life of the Night City holding them both suspended in this moment. No arguments or biting comments. No guilt, either.

A slight smile tugs across her mouth as she continues listening to the man play his downbeat little tune. Her shoulders loosen, drooping slightly and she lets herself breathe for a moment. Just the one.

“Used to be just like him,” Johnny speaks up suddenly, his voice more subdued, lower, and taps his fingers against the cigarette he’s holding. “But better. Used to play everywhere we could. Garages, bars. Anywhere that would have us, and we always had an audience.”

She hums, offering him a brief glance. “You mean you were actually good?”

She can’t see his eyes in the darkness of the street or through his tinted shades. But despite that, she can still feel his glare and the mental bite of chagrin/irritation/why is she so annoying? and deeper than that a spark of amusement/little shit thinks she’s funny.

“What’s this?” he muses, his words sarcastic. “A corpo rat that actually has a sense of humour? Colour me surprised.”

“No can do,” she shoots back promptly, fighting back a wider grin. “You’re too dead for that.”

He tsks, throwing his cigarette to the ground and she almost rolls her eyes. “Can’t wait to be out of your damn head, princess.”

“Can’t wait to be rid of you, either, so the feeling is mutual.”

Their words might be stringent but she can almost taste the faint amusement trickling between them and under that bridge that connects them.

“There might still be some bootlegs of those old days,” he muses thoughtfully. “People used to record everything back in my day.”

She drags her gaze his way, lips thinning into a firm line, “I’m not becoming a fan, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”

“Afraid you’ll hear real music and won’t be able to go back to this modern garbage I hear everywhere?”

There is challenge in his words and she bristles. Maybe this is what she needs. She may not be able to put holes in some Tiger Claws with her sniper rifle but she sure as hell can go on a scavenger hunt and see what she finds.

Besides, it might help her to understand the man nested inside her mind a little better.

So when an hour later the old, wrinkly vendor asks her why he should give her his oldest, most precious Samurai vinyl, she tells him the truth.

A twisted truth.

But truth all the same.

“He’s with me every step I take, every move I make,” she confesses softly, something deep down breathing awake at that admittance. “Johnny’s like my conscience. My eternal, infernal moral compass.”

She doesn’t miss how the man in question doesn’t appear, doesn’t say anything even after hearing that. She would have figured he would be the first in line to offer her some mocking, snarky comment but there is only silence.

In fact, she can barely feel him at all. The tether between them is still and quiet.

And his silence says a lot more than he probably realises.

an: hello. guess whose not dead and kinda back to writing. dunno how much of cp77 you should expect because coa is still my priority but maybe occasional fic for these dumbos is on the cards. oh, and takemura because cdpr are cowards for not giving us that enemies to friends/partners to lovers romance. also I know this isn’t strictly RI and I honestly considered writing it as such but saw...no point? since the premise still would have been the same, so something a little different today ig.

#cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #johnny silverhand x v #johnny silverhand x female v #keanu reeves #johnny silverhand imagine #johnny silverhand fic #cyberpunk 2077 imagine #cyberpunk 2077 fic #c: vermillion #s: get out of my head

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luna-paradoxz · 3 years

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How to take care of a tired Qilin.

Summary - When Ganyu is super tired she turns into a small, fluffy and super cute qilin and obviously it is up to Xiao to take care of her.

A/N - You can ready it on FF.net and Ao3. You can support me on Ko-fi or commission me.

Ganyu normally is stable, she can easily control and regulate her forms but there are times when she can't. Today she was tired, very tired, work after the rite of parting had taken a toll on her and when she had finally decided to take rest her body had decided she needs proper rest.

Xiao finds a sleeping qilin under the canopy of trees in Jeyuen Krast where he had come to take care of some work. The small size, the beautiful cold blue fur had given up who the qilin was. He sighed as he shook his head, she had worked herself up to half-death again.

Xiao jumped up to the cliffs and collected the Qingxin flowers that had bloomed there. It took him only 20 mins before he jumped back to where she was and made way to her sleeping form. It has been ages since he has last seen her transform. He sits beside her and carefully starts stroking her very soft fur. She moves then snuggles under his hand and goes back to sleep. For an hour they stay like that, in peace as he enjoys slowly stroking her head and listening to her make small sounds of approval in her sleep.

An hour later her clear pink eyes open and she yawned cutely. She tried to stretch but that was when she noticed a weird thing, her hands were well, not where she expected and felt too small. She blinked her eyes, looked down in surprise, the ground was far too close, her skin was too hot and when she moved her hands she could feel the fur. She took a deep breath and when she looked up, Xiao - who had stopped stroking her fur - stared back at her. His golden eyes met hers and she noticed how big he looked to her right now. She looked down and asked the question she already knew the answer to.

"I turned into my illuminated beast form didn't I?" She sighs as she asks.

He nodded, "You were already changed when I came here." He then crosses his hands, "You should have been careful, you know considering how vulnerable you can be in this form?"

She tries to pout but her mouth is small so it doesn't quite come out the same way still he gets it as he watches her huff cutely "I didn't think I would turn here so suddenly or I would not have come to forests today." She says while looking away and he silently agrees with the voice that says, she is super cute.

He sighs though and instead states "Well today there is some disturbance here, I have cleared it for now but you should go back to the harbour." Ganyu nods, close her eyes and utters the words to change back but when she opens her eyes she is still in her qilin form. With puppy eyes, she looks up to Xiao who shakes his head.

"I have told you when the mind is troubled or tired your body will reflect that." He is scolding her but his voice is kind. She looks down, her little form shaking as she looked like she was going to cry. He looks away feeling a little guilty so he sighs, puts away the issue for now and instead gently picks her up and puts her on his shoulder but that surprises her and she desperately clings to his clothes as she sighs in relief and turns to him pouting.

He explains, "Come on, I will take you to Cloud Retainer, you can take proper rest there." She smiles as she thanks him, he nods at her and asks her to hold him properly. He crunches down and jumps while keeping a gentle hand on her so she doesn't fall off. They jump through the cliffs as he finally reaches the Adeptus abode and stops in front of the long-forgotten stone table. He puts her down on the table where once three sat and took up to call the Adeptus out but no answer was given back to him. He calls out again and then sighs, Ganyu's face falls.

"Looks like she is out." He states the obvious and turns to her while crossing his hands, "What do you want to do now?"

She lets out another cute sigh and takes the forests in, near abode most monsters won't come but who knows how long it will take for Cloud Retainer to come back, at times she would just disappear to try her hand on her new inventions and with no sense of time, she would return days or months later. Surely, she will eventually come back but still, she might as well starve here with no food. She looks up to him, and gives him puppy eyes as she says,

"I can't go back to the harbour, can we head back to your place?" The 'no' was screaming in him but Xiao was not the kind of person who would just leave her here to starve, so, with great conflict (not really), he gave a conflicted sigh and picked her up again and put her on his shoulder. He makes sure she is stable before he moves again. It takes a bit longer but he jumps them down and finally reaches the Washung inn. He heads straight into his room and puts her down on his bed.

She smiles at him, "I am sorry Xiao for the trouble and thank you for helping me."

He silently rolled his eyes and says "I am not going to leave you alone in the wild while you are so weak." She winces but thanks him nonetheless, he sits down near her.

"What do you want to do now?" She looks around to his almost dark room, only lit by a single candle, it was filled with basic furniture and his weapons, nothing more.

She knew that was Xiao's style, she looks up to him and says "I have no work with me so I really have nothing to do right now." He looks down and puts a hand on her head and pushes her gently into the bed.

"Go to sleep, you need that." She looks panicked, not used to resting so much but Xiao glares at her as he lifts his hand and all but commands, "This all happened because you didn't rest, you need to take rest while you can." She whimpers as she nods and with that curls around and lays down, she still stares at him with an eye open and he sighs. He forcefully ignores the screams in his mind about how cute she is and says "I have more work to do so I am leaving, don't leave the room until I am back." He pats her once before he gets up and makes sure the door is closed and goes out and heads to Guili plains to slay more demons. She falls into sleep soon after he leaves as the salty smell of Dihua Marsh fills the room and the chirps of birds just outside. She feels nostalgic for the old centuries and falls into sleep.

He comes back silently as he walks in with airy steps and looks into the darkness to see the qilin sleeping soundly. She was breathing lightly, her mouth open with small snores that he did find cute even if he will never say it out loud. Just like before she was sound asleep so he decided to leave her and headed upstairs to the roof. He sat there below the tree as he looked over Dihua Marsh and took in the wind, he closes his eyes and rests against the bark, slowly examining his wounds today. They were not bad, just a few scratches and bruises so he was sure they will heal up in no time. He watches the clouds drift apart, the silence and the time passing doesn't matter to him. As an Adeptus, he was used to having time pass by him and it did until he came to attention when a certain qilin entered the roof. She looked up to the moon before she looked around trying to find him, it was late in the night so no humans had yet encountered her. As he got up to jump down, a certain manager came in. Ver Goldet came up to the roof, obviously surprised as she took the little Adeptus in, she crouched down and Xiao jumped down in front of them. She looked up and imminently bowed.

"Oh, Xiao-sama I was just checking what was this little animal was doing." She explained, she knew he didn't like it when they encroached on his space.

He turns to the qilin and says "It is ok don't worry she is with me."

The manager was surprised and bowed to the Qilin, she obviously still didn't recognize the secretary and says "Oh, my apologies enlightened Adeptus I didn't mean any rudeness." Ganyu tried to smile as she nods and shakes her head.

"It is quite ok Ver Goldet, and can you get the dinner sent to us in my room?" She nods and takes their order before taking her leave. He turns to her and asks her what she is doing here.

"I noticed you were back so I wanted to check in on you." She looks all over his body, "Are you ok Xiao?" She didn't note any wounds on him. He shakes his head and then turns to the roof and looks at her with an eyebrow raise asking her if she wants to stay here. She nods and he helps her get up the tree barks and they both isolate themselves and get comfortable against the branches. She rubs against the tree and smiles peacefully, the tree feels so alive and healthy.

She then turns out to the marsh and smiled, how beautiful the scene was. Xiao waited for her to fall asleep again, but she had slept quite a lot so she stayed up and stared at the marsh. The past came in flashes as she remembered the past 6 centuries, the war and the people they lost over the years. She remembered the gentle goddess and the Yakshas that lost their lives in a horrible but prideful way. She remembered the adepti that gave their life away for Rex lapis and his building region and the worst thing she remembered was every single day the blood that was spilled by her hands, the blood that still covered her. She turned to Xiao who still suffered because of the war and yet he always seems to take pride in his duties. She wonders how he forgets the blood, the nightmares filled with screams of their victims, she wondered how he forgave his past.

She bites her inner cheek gently as she shakes her head to forget such thoughts. Xiao has lost many people, everyone he got close to has left him, the karma binds him and makes him suffer to this day, she truly can't believe her suffering is more than his. She has it far easier than him she knew. She must stay strong though after all she too was Rex lapis's Adeptus, one of the guardians of Liyue.

She apologises to him silently to think lower of his sufferings before she too let her thoughts go in the wind, they watch the clouds pass until they are called for dinner by the inn lady. She jumps down gracefully and walks alongside him as they walk back to his room and thank her for the dinner. They settle on his simple table as she takes in the small bowl that looks like a cat dish, she pouts as he smirks. She looks up to him and huffs as he chuckles slightly.

"You are the same size as Wei."

She pouts cutely, using all her face muscles and says "You know better than anybody how big Qilins are."

He smirks remembering her illuminated form better than anybody "Well this is the treatment you get when one doesn't take care of oneself."

She whimpers as she agrees with his words. His scolding though was a small jab and he chuckled as he saw her whimpering, Ganyu was far too accepting when people criticized or scolded her, "I have learned my lesson, Xiao." She says as she pouts at him and he gives her a nod while looking away, she was far too cute for her own good.

He eats his almond tofu as she finished her vegetarian albone and he does note it is quite a small portion from what she eats normally, so he lets her finish and then calls out to her and pats a spot on his lap, she jumps and settles down and looks up to him as he half-smiles and scoops little of his almond tofu and offers to her. She looks surprised as she confirms if it's ok, he nods and she slowly nibbles on it. He makes her eat more before he gives her a pat and finishes his own meal.

"You feel better now?" She nods.

She smiles at him, "Thank you for sharing your food, Xiao." He nods and she jumps down as he gets up and puts their plates out as she decides to walk around his room and take it all in. It's the first time she has been inside, after all, it will also probably be the last time too. Everyone knows well Xiao doesn't like anyone in his personal space. She can smell better in this form so she takes in his musky smell, and blushes bright red not that anyone will notice considering her fluffy fur. As she jumps on his storages, he comes back and folds his hands and stares at her with flat eyes.

"What are you investigating Ganyu?" She huffs as she glares at him.

"I was just looking around a bit. I was not poking my nose anywhere."

He gives her another look before he sits down on his bed and picks up his lance and starts cleaning it. She comes near him and settles beside him, as she watches his practised elegant moves as he cleans up his jade lance, they sit there peacefully until he turns and says, "Did you bring your bow?" She nods but since she can't turn back she can't call it out right now. He sighs and instead continues with his lances. The process is calming and she nestles herself on his side as she continues watching his hands. They are quite skilled she notes and blushes when her imagination goes a bit far. She shakes her head in the silence and gets back to watching him. As the calm envelopes her she slowly drifts to slumber without even realising.

He looks down as he finishes his jade lance and sighs, she was asleep again, he wonders truly how long it has been since she has last gotten decent sleep. He slowly pats her head and she unconscious snuggles into it and it makes him slightly blush, his heart once again acting up. It was truly weird feelings, these human emotions that didn't belong to him. He takes away his hand and continues his work, as usual, the Yaksha doesn't sleep but his body does relax as she sleeps at his side. It feels natural, he muses as he works for his hands, it feels so natural to have her on his side. It has been so long since he has spent a whole day with her. It all felt so natural and relaxing and his head has been calm and his pain subdued. This is not the first time he has realised the effect she has on him, they have been fighting by each other side for centuries but this is the first he can fully bathe in that peaceful feeling without having to worry about anything else. He acknowledges the fact that Ganyu was special to him whether he liked it or not she had made herself special to him and now all he can do is to choose whether to act upon the fact or not. He looks down at her, the choice is easy but really hard to make at the same time. He is not a being that deserves happiness and yet it seems destiny doesn't want to play fair to him. Still, he smiles a little, they have time, they always had time so he can make his own choice. He hopes she will wait for him.

The hours pass and as the clock turns 5, a body suddenly appears beside him, snuggling against his shoulder. He does blush as Ganyu, now in her human form decides to still keep snuggling, her hands wound up holding the edges of his shirt as her head naturally fits in the creek of his neck and her body snuggles right up to his shoulder. He takes a deep breath and banishes all the evil thoughts, it was wrong of him to think of Ganyu like that but just like voices they just make themselves heard, his voices laughing maniacally and calling him a beast. He knows that and he should probably detach her, but she looks too comfortable for him to do that and he rationalises she will probably return to work once she is up so he should let her take her rest as much as she can. She already works so hard and as her mentor, the least he can do is make sure she is taking proper rest. So we that reasoning, he lets her nap while taking stolen glances at her and then chiding at himself to act so immorally. It was unbecoming of an Adeptus to act on such basic human desires but he can't hide the heat filling inside him as she keeps snoring on his arm.

His happy times (he will refuse that vehemently) ends when half an hour later Ganyu wakes up and jumps two feet back when she realises the situation. He sighs and schools himself back to his blank look as she blushes wildly and starts apologising. It makes him hurt that she thinks he is some kind of short-fused man, he won't get mad at her for nodding off on him. He doesn't say that as he puts a heavy hand on her head and makes her look up, their eyes meet and all he says.

"Stop apologising."

She nods and he lets her go. He gets up, stretches his muscles, putting away his lances he turns towards her, she definitely looks well-rested. Her skin colour has returned and her muscles don't seem as tense as before. He nods at her and asks her when she is leaving.

"I will probably get breakfast and then head back to the harbour." She bows when he gets up, "Thank you Xiao for letting me stay and rest. I probably would have gotten more tired if I stayed out there."

He sighs and crosses his hands, "Just remember to take rest Ganyu. You work too hard." She sighs in defeat as she nods, "Those humans won't fall apart if you take rest for one day." She nods, as usual he is brash when giving advice, well she is someone who likes that part of him so she can't really say anything. She smiles at him, thanks him and takes her leave. He won't ever admit that he will miss her for the next week while working.

She walks into the Liyue harbour, well-rested and well-fed. The sea breeze greets her morning as the merchants start the day and ships start docking for the day, some greet her and others are too focused to do so. She greets them back and as she walks to Liyue harbour, she stops near the dock area and looks out at the sea, the sea hasn't changed but the city has changed quite a lot. A lot of things have changed in these centuries but some things do remain unchanged she muses as she remembers Xiao, he has remained the same and yet she knows he has changed too, he after all smiled again. She can remember the last time he smiled, it was in the field of glaze lilies beside the gods and Yakshas, their little family back then. Now, she knows he doesn't smile any more but yesterday he had and she hopes she had played a little part in it. She knows these feelings will remain unchanged no matter the centuries and one day she will act upon them, change will come and she can choose to embrace it.

Well, not now though, she knows they can take their time. They have always had plenty of time.

#my writing #genshin impact #xianyu #xiao x ganyu #xiao's birthday gift

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fabelyn · 4 years

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In Carcere Ch.40

Pairing: inahoxslaine (orangebat, inasure)

Rated: T Warnings: spoilers for series finale Chapter: 40/? (previous chapter) Chapter Word Count: 13k

Summary: At first Inaho visits out of duty and humanity. And then he finds he can’t stop going back to see Slaine Troyard.

“I’m sorry to say, I can’t reveal who our leader is yet,” Lemrina says the minute she can find some time alone with Inaho. “He actually requested it from me after meeting with Slaine. He says he’d like to talk to you without prior knowledge coloring the discussion.”

Meaning he wants to ensure I don’t have time to prepare or plan based on his identity. At least I know it’s a male, though that was hardly unexpected considering the male gender predominance in high Martian ranks.

“And while normally I would assume your lack of expression might help…”

“You don’t want to risk the breach of trust it would be if I accidentally reveal I knew in some way. I understand. I assume he revealed his motivation and plans to Slaine?”

“They didn’t have time to go over details of the current plan, but yes, he told Slaine why he’s doing all this and some other relevant information I can’t reveal.”

“And Slaine’s verdict?”

“Agrees the words made sense, and the emotion demonstrated seemed real, so Slaine ‘trusts him as far as he can shoot him’.”

Inaho nods. “So he has decided to believe this man but hasn’t been blindly led and is keeping a healthy skepticism. Good, in between you two choosing to follow him, I assume I will have the same opinion, unless I’m privy to information you both were not.”

Lemrina is pleased enough with the mild compliment, as Kaizuka acknowledging anyone else’s intellect is certainly one, and tries to be gentle. “I’m sure it all means he should be coming to you soon.”

“That depends, did he also ask Slaine not to tell me?”

“Hm, I don’t know actually.”

“If he asked the same of Slaine, it means he won’t be coming anytime soon.” Which is a nuisance; the faster I can discuss this with Slaine, the better.

“Maybe that will be for the best, I heard the medical staff say you’re making quite a bit of progress, but that doesn’t mean you’d be fully mentally ready for him soon.”

“Certainly. And did Slaine go forth with our plan?”

“You mean, that pathetic excuse of an idea, where you pretend to only be pretending to love him?” Lemrina hisses.

“Did you not once pretend to only be pretending to be in love with him as Asseylum?”

Lemrina gasps as if he’d physically slapped her. “That… was different . And much more toned down. And… and besides if you really think it’s the same situation, all the more reason for you to accept my opinion on the subject as the correct one.”

With that, she pushes her wheelchair out of the room.

Inaho is hardly concerned; Lemrina is hardly one to be fine with prolonged solitude. And his observation was perfectly logical, she will admit it herself soon if never out loud to him. She will be back.

And she certainly was.

“I think it’s time to tell you one more thing.”

You mean you forgot to do so yesterday when you left in exaggerated displeasure. “Yes?”

She recounts the Emperor’s situation as well as Slaine’s fears.

Inaho considers it. “This is something I should examine further when I’m fully recovered. But for now I agree with Slaine’s interest in this. How both the UFE and Vers treat you and Asseylum will change according to this knowledge. But, we have an edge over both.”

“Rayet’s attempt,” Lemrina says. “I asked her before coming over. She told me she tried strangling Asseylum to the point where she required CPR to be revived.”

Inaho nods. “Correct, and at that time, Asseylum was the one that had directly activated the Deucalion, and it stopped functioning, confirming her momentary death.”

“By then, Slaine had already received aldnoah from her by way of CPR—what?” Lemrina stops, noticing the rare sight of Inaho’s lips quivering upwards for a moment.

“Nothing, the coincidence amuses me.”

“I hope you’re not thinking this is a case of indirect kissing?” Lemrina asks in disgust.

“No. I never understood the logic behind attaching the sentimentality of a kiss to the action of sharing a surface at different—”

“No need to go further, I’m satisfied. What’s important is that Slaine retained his aldnoah access even after her momentary death.” She sighs. “If only all of the Deucalion crew hadn’t witnessed that death and subsequent system failure. It will be easy for either faction to get their hands on that information.”

Inaho shrugs. “Even if they do, it’s of little consequence unless the knowledge that Slaine piloted the Tharsis thanks to Asseylum is also information they can procure.”

Lemrina considers it. “It’s hard to say for certain, but I think not. He first used it when he was with Count Saazbaum.”

“During a fight between planets, where all eyes were elsewhere, and Slaine didn’t use the Tharsis to interfere in a way that would have gotten him noticed before he took off with Asseylum in tow. At which point one could assume that he drank her blood and only after was able to use the Tharsis to leave.”

“Count Saazbaum was aware of my existence, so one could assume if Saazbaum didn’t pass his aldnoah access to Slaine, I might have. They'd have to go as far as know Slaine only met me after using the Tharsis.”

“Although that only works for people that are aware of your existence. Meaning, assuming that you and Slaine met before his using the Tharsis is something that may only dissuade your leader from looking for— wait.” Inaho considers it further. “Slaine could have operated the Tharsis without the aldnoah drive, if Count Saazbaum had allowed it, unless he made a show of being able to operate it fully when he reached martians with Asseylum?”

Lemrina shakes her head. “No, initially there was an uproar as they focused on saving her life. Count Sauzbaum took over and simply acted as if her rescue was his plan and Slaine a mere follower of his. After that, they focused on silently keeping her coma a secret and pretending I was her, partially recovered. There was no interest from martians to getting to know Slaine, much less the extent of what he could do with the Tharsis.”

Inaho’s head begins to feel uncomfortable. Although he can still plough on further, he’d rather not do any damage that might show up on test results. “This is as far as I can go for now,” he says, pointing to his eye. “But I can still say at least this until I’m able to reflect further: I don’t think we are at the risk of either martians or terrans finding out the truth. One would have to have an intricate knowledge of Slaine's abilities with the Tharsis, a timeline, as well be aware the Deucalion shut down mid flight once. We never divulged to every crew that it was due to Asseylum nearly being murdered. I don’t see it happening. Besides—”

“Really, if it’s hurting you, you can stop and retake this another time!”

“This much I can handle. It’s one last thing. If your leader was on the path of closing in on the truth, he’d have to ask you, Slaine or Harklight for details on Slaine and the Tharsis. So long as neither of you ever divulged anything to him, only we know about this.”

“He never asked. So we know something neither the UFE or he does. I wonder if we can use that to our favor? Ah, but don’t think about that now!”

It is frustrating that he can’t reflect on it now. Even more so when Inaho acknowledges there are many things he could have already thought through if he’d been invested in it since the start.

There’s no point in regret now.

“ Ha! I win again. Told you that the second match was a fluke. There’s no way I’d lose to someone who… who…”

Rayet realizes too late that making fun of Slaine for being incarcerated and thus not being allowed to work out properly really isn’t a good look.

“I mean, of course I wouldn’t lose every match, but it’s actually really impressive you bet me in arm wrestle at all! You should be proud!”

Slaine bursts out laughing. “You are even worse at giving compliments than Inaho. It’s fine, really. It is the truth. I’ve been tying some stuff together and lifting those but the results are slow.”

Rayet relaxes; Slaine laughing without a biting edge to it is rare and a good sign. “I used to think anyone could pilot if they had the coordination for it. It took me a while to realize you do need strength to keep your stamina at the controls for long. Nina and Inko always complain about feeling bruised after too long.”

“Did you visit them before coming back? How are they?”

“In good spirits. Which is something, after being forced to work like that for the UFE.”

“Can’t they simply quit?”

“Not everyone can walk away that easily. They let me go at first because they thought I was touched in the head. Inaho, they assumed broken, plus I guess since he was only leaving to take up, well, you, I guess that worked out just fine. The old geezers aboard the Deucalion… I think they refuse to leave because they know the UFE is simply going to shove someone else in their place, so they might as well stay aboard to protect the Deucalion.

“And the rest… I guess they could ask to leave but… and go where? I guess this is my own fault because I keep complaining, and also because you only saw them when the UFE started doing shit. But the Deucalion itself… It feels like home. And safe. If there was a way to leave the UFE without sacrificing the Deucalion, who knows.”

“... Speaking of the Deucalion. Rayet?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you tell me about that time you once mentioned, when you tried to strangle Her Majesty?”

Rayet leans back on her chair, now worried again. “...Why?” Inaho had been very emphatic about not trying to pry the topic of Asseylum out of Slaine in his absence. The possibility of Slaine himself bringing it up hadn’t factored in. Especially not with this sort of request.

Then it hits her. “Oh, wait. Is this about the aldnoah thing? Lemrina asked about the same thing. Yeah, I tried killing her, she fainted, Deucalion went down, she was revived.”

“Yes. But I’d like the details, please.”

Not that Slaine truly needs the details, but it’s clear Rayet is treating him like some invalid that cannot handle even that, and it’s grating on his nerves to not be able to show he is not as unstable as he had been. “I think they might be important.” he lies. “And it’s fine, you won’t upset me.”

Rayet considers it, then shrugs. She can blame Slaine if Inaho complains later. “Alright then. My memory is a little foggy because I wasn’t in my right mind but uh… I was in the shower, reflecting on, well, watching my family be killed before my eyes.”

Slaine blinks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t have known. Anyway, in comes Asseylum chatting happily to her maid about how everyone is so nice to her and I just… broke? I know how ridiculous it sounds when I tell anyone. Hell, even back then I knew I wasn’t okay doing it. Anyway, the motivation was stupid so we can skip that—”

“You can skip it if that’s what you want. But as for stupid motivation to commit crimes, I certainly cannot judge you, if you wan’t to talk about it,” Slaine says with a mirthless smile.

“...I blamed her. But it wasn’t like my anger now. Now I can see her actively failing and harming people, so it feels like it’s okay to feel this way. But back then… I blamed her for things that weren’t really her fault. I mean, everything happened because she was so naive, but there’s a limit to what I can blame her for that. My family was tasked with murdering her with false promises of glory. Then they were betrayed and killed instead. We had lived a life of lies until then, not being allowed to reveal where we came from, even.

“I thought… if she hadn’t come to Earth, none of it would have happened. And then, despite the destruction that her arrival inadvertently caused, she went around skipping through the corridors of the Deucalion like she was out on a fun vacation. No one even blamed her for it! It was too much. My family was dead and she didn’t even look upset . I wanted her to stop smiling. ”

Rayet’s hands are balled into fists on the table. Slaine reaches out to place his hands over hers.

How different from the me of back then . Cruhteo would whip him, tell him he was worthless, the rest would at best ignore him, at worst steal his food and beat him up. Every day he had to walk in tiptoes, no mistake was ever too small to not get ruthlessly punished for.

And then there was her, smiling brightly and talking about seeing birds and water, unaware of his treatment.

He had loved that. He could bask in her obliviousness and for a while pretend nothing was wrong, nothing was happening to him. He had needed that small amount of joy to get through the day.

...But would he have ever suffered that much if she had known and done something to stop it?

No, don’t do that. Don’t blame her for the things you never told her about.

“What then?” He asks, hoping to pull them both away from a spiral by focusing elsewhere.

It works, and Rayet focuses. Her hands relax again, so Slaine takes his back. “So then the maid left to do… whatever, I don’t remember. I wasn’t in my right mind, like I was acting on autopilot. I went to where she was showering, and grabbed... the nearest object I could to choke her.”

“You choked her with a towel?” It would have been easier to use her bare hands.

“No, I don’t remember what that object was.”

“I deal with Inaho constantly. Don’t try to lie to me.”

“... It was that pendant.”

Slaine lets out a sound that is between incredulous laughter and choking.

“I really only brought her more misery, didn’t I?”

“Slaine—”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have given it to Inaho. I guess it brings bad luck.”

That he switched so fast from focusing on Asseylum to worrying about Inaho makes Rayet excited enough to speak without thinking. “He’d have taken it anyway.”

“What?”

“... Because… Because he doesn’t believe in that stuff, you know.”

“Ah, right. So, you used my pendant.”

“Right. She eventually stopped struggling and fainted so I let her fall to the floor. I just...stood there not really thinking. But then the Deucalion lurched, fell and stopped moving. Then Inaho and the maid came back.”

“He likely realized what the Deucalion losing power meant.”

“I guess. And then more people came, they brought in a defibrillator. Inaho personally administered CPR…”

There is a fleeting expression on Slaine’s face, that goes away too quickly for her to make out.

“She woke up again, but the Deucalion didn’t start up.”

“Yes, once turned off, aldnoah needs to be personally activated again.”

“Right. And… that was it. So, Lemrina said this all means even if the former Emperor does die, martians will keep their power?”

“...Yes.”

Rayet clicks her tongue in annoyance. “There really is no easy way to get rid of their power.”

I wonder. “Please don’t tell anyone. No one knows as much as we do.”

“Don’t worry. The only person I’m inclined to tell is Inaho, and I know Lemrina is going to fill him in. As for why knowing is so useful, I’ll leave you scheming people to it. Now, one more game before I leave?”

“Since Inaho isn’t around, how about poker?”

“Sure, but don’t invite that Harklight. He looks like he can keep a straight face a little too well.”

Slaine does, later on, invite Harklight for a game of poker.

Rayet was right; he does have a good poker face.

“That’s it,” Slaine says after the third loss in a row. “You are playing against Inaho when he comes back.”

“I fear I’m not quite that good.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

“Don’t be silly, I know how packed your schedule is.”

Packed mostly with useless fluff. Still, it is necessary to establish a routine of continuous movement and meetings, so as to mask any suspicious activities.

Mazuurek, leading the way to a private room, continues the mindless chatter. “I’m surprised you came so early, in fact. I hope I haven’t interrupted any important meetings, I really have nothing urgent to say, I just miss personal company sometimes.”

“On the contrary,” Klancain replies. “I happened to have an opening.” True, as dropping a meeting to randomly visit Mazuurek might seem suspicious. “So it was simply luck that I could come over so soon.”

Instead of answering, Mazuurek stops in front of a door and opens it for Klancain to walk inside.

It’s one of Mazuurek’s favorite guest rooms, and Klancain is casual enough with Mazuurek to sit himself down on a couch.

“This room is safe, I always check,” Mazuurek assured him, sitting down on the opposite side.

“Is somewhere in your Landing Castle not safe right now?”

“Not that I’m aware. But, well, I thought it might be prudent to be careful.”

“Oh yes. Pardon me, I didn’t mean to come off as judging you, my friend. It is indeed better to be safe than sorry in these troubled times. It’s just that, if you had a more concrete belief on being spied upon, I could try and help.”

Before Mazuurek can answer, there is a knock on the door and a servant comes in bringing food, glasses and a bottle to set the low table between the two Counts.

“That was different,” Klancain comments mildly when they’re alone again. “Usually I see that former maid of Her Majesty’s.”

Mazuurek smiles as he grabs a pastry. “She had been granted some vacation time off. I made some calculations and realized she had accrued two months of vacation she had never bothered to request. Hungry?”

“Not really, thank you, but I’ll accept a drink. And that was nice of you.”

“Not that nice, according to her. She certainly acted like I was kicking her out, not rewarding her with some time to rest.” Mazuurek sighs. “I used to allow them to do as they wish with their vacation, but I’ve noticed my martian underlings all refuse to take time off, so I decided to set her as an example. Really, I do understand that in between needing to build up Vers to become hospitable and then getting ready for war, we hardly ever had time for such things. But now that we’re here, I want to increase Labor Rights so my workers have a better life. Even if it takes a while for it to sink in.”

“A commendable idea. I should reinforce that in my own Landing Castle. Oh!” Klancain had been examining the drink bottle and finally noticed the label on it. “This is new, and from your territory, no less. What’s this, Mazuurek?”

Mazuurek looks half apologetic. “I’m sorry, but I was hoping to hear your opinion on it? It’s something that has been around for a while here, but recently I thought of perhaps increasing production and trying to export to other territories. It might help the economy.”

“I’ll gladly be your test group. Let’s see…” He tries taking a sip. “Very good. I can definitely see this succeeding as an export.”

“I hope you aren’t saying that just to please me.”

“I wouldn't jeopardize your economic endeavors by lying about their success rate. But tell me, has something happened? I thought you were doing fine.”

“Fine is good, certainly, but I want more than that. Perhaps with a surplus of income I could expand and help more people. Not to mention… who knows how things will be in the future, considering the current situation.”

Ah, here we go .

Mazuurek waits, but when he sees Klancain has no plans to say anything, he continues, now serious.

“The UFE murdered Count Mikael.”

“...Yes.”

“And you knew about it.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you…”

“Do anything?” Klancain downs the rest of his glass in one motion, then looks at Mazuurek with sincere despondency. “Because there was nothing I could do. If I had sufficient sway, I would never had allowed the UFE to not only murder one of our own, but to go further and do it in a way to create strife between our people. Yes, I knew about it; but that is the extent of what I can do. The terrans that compose the UFE Council did not arrive there by easily listening to martians.

“...You could have told me.”

“Did Kaizuka tell you?”

“I... thought we were closer than Kaizuka and I,” Mazuurek says, and colors lightly, likely from frustration.

Klancain flinches; he’s gone too far. “I apologize, my friend. The subject is a complicated one for me. If you’re upset with me for not having done anything, rest assured I am even more so. I didn’t tell you because I saw no point in burdening you with it.”

“But I could have done something!”

“Do you truly think so? What would you have done, then? Revealed what the UFE was planning, thus restarting another planetary conflict and resulting in more bloodshed?”

“... I…”

“If Kaizuka also chose to keep this from you, then it’s because even he realized there was nothing you could do. But please, don’t take that as you are lacking. If it is a failure, it’s one we both share.”

Mazuurek silently stares at him, then his shoulders sag. He leans forward, reaching for his empty glass.

Klancain grabs the bottle and offers to pour for him. Mazuurek hesitates then, to Klancain’s surprise, grabs the whole bottle from him and drinks directly from it.

“That isn’t very respectful of you,” Klancain says with amusement.

“Ah, screw that,” Mazuurek says uncharacteristically, but he’s smiling.

“Care to share?”

“As much as you care to share your information.”

“Alright, I deserve that. Sobriety it is.”

“Ah, fine, you don’t,” Mazuurek admits, and hands the bottle over. Klancain considers it for a second before shrugging and following his example, foregoing the glass.

“I understand that it’s not as if I’d do anything about it. Just like about… Slaine Troyard.”

Ah. “Kaizuka told you that, too.”

“Oh, you have no idea .”

“Hm? I’m all ears.”

“... No, I will keep the details to myself. Not out of spite, but some things… are Kaizuka’s to talk about. You can go ask him.”

Oh? Did he mention his feelings for Slaine to Mazuurek? A pity it would be too suspicious to inquire about that. “Maybe I will. He and I never had a chance to talk, actually.”

“You’ll work out great, with those tendencies to not tell your friends the very relevant information you know.”

“Mazuurek…” Klancain tries to offer him the bottle again, but Mazuurek refuses.

“No. Look, as I said, I have to admit I really can do nothing about Troyard, nor could I have stopped the UFE without making it worse. But to think that even you will refuse to tell me such important things… it means not only do you not think me useless, you don’t even see me as trustworthy or care about me enough to ensure that I’m also aware!”

Maybe I shouldn’t tread too lightly after all. “I see. So, when will you be telling Her Majesty?”

“...!”

“Come now. Are you perhaps not fond of her enough to keep her informed?” It would be nice if you acknowledged she is hardly intelligent enough for you to ever risk it, but you won’t go down that path.

“That’s… I don’t want to hurt her.”

“And that, my friend, is why I haven’t told you. Sharing this with you, so you too can live knowing how powerless we are, wouldn’t make me happier.”

Mazuurek’s shoulders sag in defeat. “I suppose I understand. But still, now that I know this much, it’s not going to help me to keep more from me. Promise me you’ll now tell me if you know of the next attack.

“While I can swear I am not aware of any attack at the moment... no, I cannot promise you I’ll warn you of future ones. Not unless you promise you’ll take that information and do nothing with it.”

“...! But what if I find a way—”

“And what way would that be? Visit the Count and stay with him forever? No Mazuurek, I will not risk your life by telling you that information in advance.”

Mazuurek looks like he wants to argue, but again can’t find an argument. Klancain takes pity on him.

“Obviously, if you are ever their target,” he chuckles at the notion, “I will immediately warn you. Although, thanks to Kaizuka, I assume you’ll be on the lookout hereon for suspicious skycarriers requesting permission to land, and you can just shoot Troyard on sight.”

To Klancain’s surprise, Mazuurek groans, pulling at his bangs. “I… am going to try and avoid that. Shooting him down I mean.”

So Kaizuka did say something about his feelings. “What is this? Pity for him now?”

“I guess,” Mazuurek says, and can’t quite look him in the eyes, confirming Klancain’s assumption. “Oh. Maybe you can at least help me with his collar?”

“Hm?”

“Can you acquire the plans to how it was made? I could try and find a way to dismantle it.”

It’s a relief to finally hear something he can agree with, and Klancain smiles. “As a matter of fact, I might be able to procure that for you.” He had, in fact, already begun to do so; if he could remove the collar mid-operations, he could take Slaine from the UFE through the easiest route. “Or at the very least, the signal information. The UFE knows this collar is all that keeps Troyard in check and obedient outside of his cell, the plans won’t be something they’ve left unguarded.”

“I imagine so. But it’s fine, we have to try something. Maybe I could create a device to jam the signal, at least.”

“True, I’ll tell you of any updates I have on that, just don’t get your hopes up too much. And if the UFE tires of keeping Troyard alive, I’ll tell you after the fact. That’s the most I can do.”

Mazuurek sighs. “Fine, I know not to push my luck. That said, Slaine Troyard… I feel partially to blame for that.”

“Hm? Why so?”

“I’ve been thinking, ever since Inaho came over. I recalled when I first heard they’d use him as a scapegoat to secure peace.”

Klancain considers it. “Ah, yes. The UFE Council called Her Majesty in for a private meeting, and neither of us had the power or influence to join in.”

Mazuurek nods. “And then when she came to us later, with the idea of using him in her head, I remember… remember how I didn’t really object. I thought, ‘he’s dead, and nearly succeeded in hurting terrans and was keeping Her Majesty captive, why not?’. I was tired, I wanted an end to all the fighting already and besides, maybe it would be cathartic for Her Majesty to pay him back for the hurt he caused her. I never voiced a complaint.”

“You didn’t know he was alive.”

“Did you?”

“No. We landed on Earth together, remember? I still hadn’t managed to acquire any connections to terrans, much less the UFE or Kaizuka. I didn’t have the information,” Klancain answers truthfully.

“That’s the thing. You also didn’t know he was alive, but you thought things true. I remember how you tried dissuading Her Majesty. You said Count Saazbaum would be more appropriate. In fact, you even offered your father—”

“Ah, please don’t think that suggestion was a big sacrifice on my part. We weren’t close and besides, my dear father would want nothing more than to have his memory used for the sake of Vers’ future.”

“Even so, you tried . I said nothing. It never occurred to me just how fragile the peace we’ve brokered on this lie really is, until Inaho spelled it out to me. Maybe, if I had just said anything…”

“Maybe nothing would have changed.” Klancain cuts his thoughts short. “It wasn’t your job to think of it for Her Majesty, don’t blame yourself for something that you might not have achieved even if you had tried. I could also have done more. Insisted on it, or talked to you to get you to help me. But I dropped it quickly enough, too.”

He had initially wanted for Slaine to not be used, as he had known nothing would seal his fate tighter than that; in any other situation the UFE might lock him up but never as closely guarded as now that they cannot afford to lose their excuse.

That said, choosing Slaine as the figurehead did help him in other regards; by blaming a young boy, it speeded up martian suspicion of Asseylum by at least a year.

“I suppose. And I’m sure the UFE wouldn’t let Her Majesty change her mind so easily.”

Klancain considers if he can afford to push Mazuurek a little more. He doesn’t want him feeling worse, yet he does need to plant seeds of doubt on him, if he ever hopes to not have to fight him in the future. He chooses to try. “As a matter of fact, that is something I’ve been wondering.”

“Yes?”

“Was placing all the blame on Troyard something the UFE came up with?”

“You mean…!”

“When I think about it, wouldn’t the UFE rather blame a martian Count, instead of a terran boy that had just barely risen to power?”

“So, you think Her Majesty suggested him.”

It certainly sounds like the foolish, lacking in oversight, decision of someone who never had to think of the consequences of her actions in a negative light, and who wanted him to personally pay. “I’m afraid I am leaning towards that assumption, for now. Recall, if you please, that Troyard’s troops were poised on the eve of a victory. The peace protected terrans and not our people. It would not interest them to broker a peace too fragile that would result in Vers taking back the fight before they could even recover.”

“But then, why?”

“Maybe at that moment they wanted nothing more than to please the one person they had to thank for creating the ceasefire. And if her request was something that came with no sacrifice to them or their power, why start their relationship with a refusal? Better to give her that, start amicable relationships with a show of being willing to follow her lead then disagree and push back or more serious matters for the UFE.”

That, and now having something over Asseylum’s head. If she ever seems to be no longer following UFE’s interests, they can hold Slaine over her head. If she tries to amass martian power against terrans one day, they can ruin trust her people have in her by revealing the truth.

And that is the true reason they willingly kept Slaine alive even before they had any use for him. They could have killed him and claimed an accident, or suicide, to appease Asseylum’s sensibility if she ever cared to ask.

He is a tool to overturn regimes. The question is, who will use him.

Wherever you realize it or not, accept it or not, Asseylum, it was Slaine that gave you the power to create this false peace. Everything you built thanks to him, he can destroy.

And I’ll see to it that he does.

Mazuurek does not notice Klancain’s darkening face, lost in his own thoughts.

The UFE’s power must be diminished.

He’d been meaning to tell Klancain of his plans to increase his own influence, but now he’s changed his mind. It’s not that he wants to be petty over the lack of information; he simply feels it would best if Klancain continued to be oblivious, to not harm his own standing in the UFE.

Besides, Klancain is smart, he’ll notice it in time, if Mazuurek succeeds.

“Lemrina, how does the aldnoah transfer work?”

Lemrina frowns. “ You don’t know?”

“Assume I don’t.”

“Fine. By swearing fealty to the Royal Family then accepting our blood. The loyalty and the blood together allow for aldnoah use.”

“Slaine—”

“Other body fluids don’t carry the same power as blood. Rather than that, through skin to skin contact is how loyalty, or love, is verified. That gives the subject a temporary contract; you can use aldnoah to activate one thing to your will, but nothing else. To complete the contract and fully receive aldnoah, blood must then be ingested.”

“I presume you gave Slaine your blood then, during the war?”

Lemrina shifts uncomfortably. “... As a matter of fact, no. I… was foolish. I knew he’d need me less if I did give him, and I wanted to retain some power over him… “

“That was a very sensible decision on your part.”

“No, no it wasn’t. Maybe it sounds like it, but I know there was nothing logical about it, I just wanted attention. Anyway, I would give him my blood now, but I can’t ask for his loyalty.”

“About that, is there some basis, some test done, to ascertain it requires loyalty?”

“A text left behind by the ancients. It said:

“ Those who are loaned to ‘successor’ and ‘maneuver’ need to ‘recognize’ each other as part of their own. The consciousness that feels like a part of oneself, recognizing that the object is a personality different from oneself, can also be called ‘loyalty’. In other words, it is also called ‘love’. Only to those who pledge ‘loyalty’ or ‘love’, Ald Noah's ‘maneuver’ is borrowed .”

“...”

“What is it?”

“Nothing, just my head.” For once, it’s a lie.

“Kaizuka, you have a visitor.”

Inaho frowns at the unexpectedness. He doubts it’s his friends from the Deucalion, or else they’d come as a group. He glances at Lemrina, doing strength training a few feet away, but she looks back clearly just as lost.

“That’s fine, bring them in,” Inaho says.

Even more surprisingly, it turns out to be Eddelrittuo.

“Greetings, Inaho Kaizuka…” she says, and Inaho can’t quite place the look on her face.

Well, whatever it may be, she doesn’t seem pleased to be here. “It’s been a while, Eddelrittuo.”

“Yes…” Before she can say anything else, she catches sight of Lemrina and her eyes grow wide. “Y-You!”

Inaho sighs inwardly, wishing Eddelrittuo had learned to be a little less open and expressive.

“I suppose working under Mazuurek, you haven’t seen a fellow maid of Her Highness, so your surprise isn’t shocking.”

Annoyingly, she does not catch the hint. “W-What?”

“Hello, Eddelrittuo,” Lemrina says smoothly, coming over as fast as her wheelchair would allow. “It’s been a while since we both worked together under Her Majesty’s employ, hasn’t it?”

Finally Eddelrittuo understands. “Oh! Right! Yes, it’s been so long, how are you?”

“I’m doing better. My legs can almost move again.” To prove her point, Lemrina exerts some effort and her legs kick.

Eddelrittuo’s eyes grow wide again, but for the first time since her arrival, she smiles warmly. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m done, we can relocate to my room,” Inaho says, trying to steer them towards privacy, but to his surprise Eddelrittuo scrunches up her nose.

“Why would I want to visit your room?”

So she wasn’t sent by Mazuurek due to a sensitive topic. “That’s fine then. So, why are you here?”

She stomps her foot. “Count Mazuurek he… he gave me a vacation! ” The last word is said as a wail.

Inaho looks to Lemrina, assuming this is a cultural thing.

Lemrina is frowning slightly. “Vacation…? Oh, yes, I recall that concept.” She giggles and turns to Inaho. “Receiving time off isn’t expected for martians, especially not those… those of us who work directly with the Royal Family. That is a privilege, you see, and needing to rest would imply weakness and dissatisfaction with the work. At most you receive a day or so of rest a month.”

“And I’m not tired!” Eddelrittuo whined. “I didn’t become Her Majesty’s personal maid on a whim! I was picked as the best, and I never shirked from duty!”

Child and slave labor rolled in one. Hm, is this a consequence of the harsh conditions of the planet, resulting in the need for more work and less ethics? Something similar even if not as drastic did occur in Japan after—

This isn’t the time for that. “That is stupid,” he says bluntly. “People need rest, for the sake of their psychological health. There are countless studies on it. Outside of martial law, Earth has civil rights and labor laws in place to protect people, and I assume Mazuurek is trying to implement them.”

Eddelrittuo sniffs. “Yes, he mentioned something of the kind. And said that…” She raised her head up proudly. “As a former maid of Her Majesty and someone that others hold in high esteem in the Landing Castle, I had to be the example to do it first, because if I did it, others would naturally follow.”

So are you upset or not? “So you decided to visit me?” Inaho doesn’t bother to hide the incredulity in his voice. Lemrina bites her lip, but it’s clear she’s stifling laughter.

Eddelrittuo puts her hands on her hips, and looks up at Inaho vexed again. “Obviously this isn’t my idea of this ‘vacation’ thing. When the Count told me to take off from work, I wanted to hang around the Landing Castle to help out. It’s my time off so I could right? But then Mazuurek asked me to run errands.”

“... You could have refused. If it’s your vacation, it means time away from work.”

Eddelrittuo looks horrified. “ Disobey direct orders from the Count?! I am an exemplary maid! I would never! ”

Trying to comprehend this further might just undo all the progress I’ve done with my recovery. I’ll send Mazuurek a list of materials to help him when I can, he’ll need it . “I see. So, what was the errand?”

“He wanted me to bring you... this!” She reaches into her bag and takes out a carefully wrapped up bottle.

He unwraps it as Lemrina looks over his shoulder. “... Alcohol?”

Eddelrittuo is looking proud again. “Not just any alcohol! That liquor was especially made in Count Mazuurek’s territory! He said he wants to start promoting it to other places, so you better show respect and be thankful he let you have such a thing for free!”

Is he planning to supplement his economic revenue by finally taking up trading? This is a luxury item so it won’t have much of a big impact. Then again, if the impact is small, less attention to him earlier on. And the revenue from this could then be used to invest in better items…

“Tell him I appreciate it. I’ll keep it safe and share it with my sister when I return home.”

Eddelrittuo looks satisfied. “Good!” She glances at Lemrina and hesitates. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Is that her loyalty to the Royal family, or did she grow fond of Lemrina after being with her for two years? So long as it isn’t pity it should be—

“I’m fine , thank you,” Lemrina says, too curtly.

Whether Eddelrittuo meant is a friendly gesture or not no longer mattered; Lemrina had interpreted it as pity.

It’s not enough to deter Eddelrittuo. “Now that Count Mazuurek managed to kick me out, I’m going to stay here. I know that if I come back earlier he’ll just send me on another long errand again. So, if you need me, or you just want to talk about… about our work, you can call me!”

“There won’t be a need,” Lemrina insists.

“Certainly, give us your address,” Inaho says instead, and ignores the glare from Lemrina.

He doubted he’d need it, but it might be useful to know where she was staying at, to use her to move around if he needed an excuse.

Inaho is finally seen as fit to walk outside soon enough.

Lemrina wonders if she should be polite and act happy for him, but decides not to when Inaho barely blinks at the news.

“It’s only natural. I’ve been fit to do so for some time, but since I never insisted on leaving, they decided to make use of that and pay extra heed. Everything points to me being discharged on time, so naturally they can’t keep me away from open spaces for longer, as they need to see how I react to the public. Besides, the level of rehabilitation necessary has been exaggerated from the start, to dissuade the UFE from using me more.”

Lemrina shakes her head at the predictability of his answer and focuses on moving her feet, frustration bubbling at being unable to follow suit just yet.

“You started your own rehabilitation after mine,” Inaho points out. “If we consider time spent and results, you are making progress faster.”

Is he trying to console her for not being allowed to walk with him? It doesn’t quite work.

“It’s not as if I’m missing out on anything,” Lemrina says, more for herself than him, and even Inaho knows better than to contradict such a thing.

He could have argued in favor of allowing her, accompanied by him, to walk outside with her crutches. However, while Inaho knows the UFE is not monitoring his every move, he has plans he’d rather not have something as conspicuous as someone on crutches accompanying him.

He barely pays attention to the rest of the medical facility as he walks to the exit; he only notes that it remains unchanged, as expected.

Outside he pauses and pays more attention. The flow of people remains the same as the last time he had been there. No, perhaps it had increased slightly.

Nothing he’d seen had reached the number of crowds he’d witnessed in his birth city before the war, but compared to other places, he supposed this city could be considered of the more populated ones for the current standards.

Just as well for him, as with that many people, he’d be able to find an exclusive martian bar.

Not that, technically, exclusivity was allowed. Asseylum had been vocal against bars that attempted to be specific to any race… which did not mean people had not found ways to circumvent that.

There are two places he’s been told of. One is a bar recommended by Lemrina, as the base for those of her faction in the city.

Not that she had to tell him that. The name alone was clear enough the owner was feeling disinclined to the current martian rule: The Sons of Zeus .

Even as Inaho is amused at the name —is it overconfidence that no one would understand the bar was, in a way, referencing the Dioscuri , or boldness to not care for consequences?— he would rather not go there. He wants to hear the regular opinion of martians, not the chatter of already converted dissidents.

Which brings him to the restaurant recommended by Mazuurek.

He finds it, entrance half hidden in a narrow alley, and it’s name is equally amusing to him: Prometheus Restaurant .

Martians quite enjoy their Greek. I wonder if the connection in name is on purpose.

There is no window to the inside, and the door is closed, manned by a waitress who jumps to attention when it becomes clear Inaho plans to enter.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the man says politely, “I’m afraid we are full. Do you have a reservation, sir?”

And as easily as that, a place could guarantee exclusivity while flying under the radar.

Wordlessly, Inaho takes out and shows him the token Mazuurek had long ago handed him for such a situation. The waiter examines it and smiles, opening the door for him to enter.

It’s dimly lit and, while not truly full, has a decent number of seated people. Inaho finds a table in between two filled ones and sits down. A television overhead is playing the news. He orders something and settles down for listening in.

For a while, nothing relevant is being said. At the table behind him are a couple who are lightly mocking their Count and laughing at their brilliance at having used an errand to make a date week between them. The table in front of Inaho has three martians who are unaffiliated to any Count —did they defect or have their Count die? They never say, but all martians on Earth are military so they must have worked for one— discussing the jobs they’ve been doing in the city to make ends meet. Sadly nothing relevant of the operations is being said, as they are clearly very low on the hierarchy and simply bemoan their work.

And then food and drinks arrive for both tables, and the conversations all converge into awe. Awe at what they’re currently tasting, reminiscent awe over things they’ve tasted before, and hopeful awe at what they’re planning to taste next.

Inaho’s own appetizer arrives, and it isn’t anything he hasn't tasted before.

If martians are still reacting like this to terran food after all this time, then the quality of their food on Vers is worse than I presumed.

And then, finally, something of use to him is said.

It happens, naturally, the moment the television brings news of Asseylum. A hush falls over the restaurant as everyone, even the waiters, stop to look at the news.

It’s nothing much: Asseylum is seen somewhere in Africa, talking to an affected population still struggling after the war, saying she feels for their plight and pledging to help.

“We are all humans,” Asseylum says to a microphone, surrounded by bodyguards, “we should not be harming each other. Vers will make up for the pain it caused our terran brothers and sisters.”

“Why are they so sure the war is the cause for their issues?” Someone grumbles in the restaurant. “I heard terrans were all fighting themselves before we came along.”

“Right, right. That’s why Vers was created in the first place, wasn’t it? To get less people on Earth to fix their problems.”

“Why is she pledging to help them when she hasn’t even helped us ?” One of the people on the table ahead of Inaho says, voice a little too loud. His companion hisses at him for it, but no one else tries to argue.

No other complaint is forthcoming, but even Inaho can read the displeasure on the faces around him. It’s soon gone, however.

This is not enough for a revolution, but the dissatisfaction has already settled in. If the dissidents want, they can spread and increase resentment until Asseylum’s defenders become the minority.

Inaho waits longer, but there is nothing else of note.

As he leaves, he glances at the name of the restaurant again, and wonders if in the future any call back to Prometheus will be removed.

Slaine lays in his bed, running over his talk with Klancain again. No matter how much he thinks back to it, or how much time passes, he can’t get any additional clarity.

Inaho should be coming back in less than a month, if he doesn’t dawdle, but Slaine doubts he will bring back any news of Klancain. Even if the man had requested that he keep the identity from Inaho, it would be foolish of him to go so soon. Whoever he has in his pocket in the UFE might accept a meeting with Slaine… but one followed quickly by a meeting with Inaho? No, Klancain had done everything slowly so far, he could afford to wait longer.

Slaine frowns as he looks at the dark ceiling. That is something he’s wondering about. Why has Klancain been so slow? Certainly, by letting things run their course, the martian acceptance of the Empress may decrease naturally… but he runs the risk of terrans fortifying themselves. Is it a mere oversight of Klancain’s? Slaine doubts it. Either Klancain has less power than he seems, and thus can barely make a move, or he is waiting for something.

How many times have I come back to this? There’s no point, there are too many possibilities, I need Inaho’s insight for this.

Not that Slaine is too frustrated. He had expected to gleam little from the conversation; his main priority was finally seeing who the leader was, and setting in motion his plan with Inaho.

If nothing else, hopefully I succeeded in…

In keeping Inaho alive?

Slaine blinks, and sits up from his bed as the realization dawned. He quickly covers his mouth with a hand before a nervous laugh escapes. He doesn’t want the guard coming in wondering why he is awake.

He could have gotten rid of him. Inaho is useful, but hardly as much as he had been before the brain damage. Not to mention, his status as a terran makes it clear where his allegiances would always truly lie.

If Slaine had wanted to, he could have instead told Klancain that Inaho will be a liability, no matter how nice he is to Slaine in his captivity. The Warden is in Klancain’s pocket, so is Harklight.

Honestly… they could even recreate what they had done for the Empress: stage an accident, murder Inaho, put Lemrina in disguise in his place.

Laughter bubbles again, and Slaine grabs the pillow to muffle it.

He hadn’t even contemplated that. He had so little desire of wanting to harm Inaho now that when the singular chance presented itself all he could focus on was how to protect him instead.

All that time he had wanted him gone and yet failed at every turn… and finally the opportunity only presents itself when he no longer has any desire to do it.

It truly is as if the universe is laughing at him.

Even so… more than the hilarious irony of it all, the situation feels… freeing.

For the first time, for truly the first time, Slaine feels the burden of their roles gone.

No matter how much Inaho treated him as an equal, and no matter how much Slaine truly believed it, the fact never changed that Inaho had his life in his hands.

Now, even if a little, Slaine has a similar power.

Maybe it shouldn’t change anything, yet it does, even if Slaine can’t quite place what.

“Do you have a detailed world map? No, of course you don’t. Do you have a personal device that can use the internet?”

Lemrina blinks. Inaho visiting her room was unexpected enough, and his appearance by asking strange questions was even more so.

“... Yes, I do not have a map. And no, I don’t have a personal device of that sort. Why?”

Inaho sits down on her bed. “I knew the probability was very low, but had to check.”

She observes him. She still can’t read his face, but Inaho is talking faster and being ruder than normal.

This may be his way of being upset. “What’s wrong? Why the map? Why not use your tablet?”

Inaho sighs. “They took away my personal tablet when I got here and gave me a pre-approved one, to avoid my looking at material that might overload my neural senses.”

“And this new tablet won’t allow you to look at a map?”

“It would. But it’s not as safe as mine.”

“Start from the beginning. Why do you need a map and why must it be kept a secret?”

“Inko called me. Inko is—”

“I know who she is, Rayet told me.”

“Inko and my other friends had been planning to pass by me here in a week, but the Deucalion’s route has been changed.”

“... I’m not following.” She hates to admit it, but she doubts Inaho will explain if she doesn't say it.

Inaho hesitates before replying. “The Deucalion has a pre-established route. It has never needed to be changed.”

“Did Inko not have a reason for the change?”

“They told her that with the escalating tension and suspicion due to the Landing Castle massacre, they want to avoid the Deucalion moving in the same pattern as it has for the last year, to avoid it becoming a target from martians. And the new route would also be better for monitoring all the Landing Castles as it focuses on Europe.”

Lemrina huffs. “Well, apart from the fact that we know it wasn’t my people that did it, isn’t this a logical step? The Deucalion is the most well known symbol of terran power, after all.”

“As you said, the UFE knows martians are nowhere near to attacking them yet. That said, yes, this could be simply a ruse to make it more believable that the UFE is just as worried and in the dark about the attack as anyone else. However, there are two other possibilities.”

“Which are?”

“They could be using this to have attention focused on the Deucalion, and with that act elsewhere without being noticed.”

Finally Lemrina understands. “They want attention on the Deucalion to attack another Landing Castle.”

“Possibly. However these two hypothesis—”

“Are you not exerting yourself?”

Inaho frowns. “I have less than three weeks before I’m discharged. I can do this much without backlash.”

“Alright. You were saying?”

“The two hypothesis we’ve talked about so far are easy to verify: if the Deucalion changing route becomes news, then indeed either the UFE wants to act worried over martians, or it wants attention diverted to the Deucalion. I’ve already checked the news, and there is nothing of the sort so far.”

“It could be early days yet. Official announcements often need to be reviewed. If your friends just learned of it, maybe it’s still being sent to the press. But, where does the map come in?”

“... If this change isn’t advertised at all, then something else is being done. I have one or two ideas, but I don’t want to voice probabilities without first checking a map. My knowledge of the European continent isn’t detailed enough to visualize their route and what they’ll be passing through without one.”

“... I think they’ll be allowing me to walk out of this place soon, I could look for one.”

“Bringing back a map will be strange. There is a museum close by. My sister took me to it the first time I was here, there’s a map that will suffice. I would go there myself but, in this case I think it would be prudent to be careful. So I’d like to have you with me as an excuse.”

“Alright. But if you need to acquire one faster—”

“I don’t. Even if we had confirmation, there is nothing we can do, so we might as well be cautious about it.”

“... I see.”

There is no news of the Deucalion the next day, or the next, or the following days either.

Lemrina sees Inaho frown sometimes, as he watches the news channels intently.

Perhaps a kinder person than Lemrina might try to placate him with platitutes on how maybe the staff is hiding such information from them, as a means to avoid a lapse in Inaho’s recovery now that it is almost done.

No, there is no reason for them to hide something so simple from him. And he isn’t the sort to feel better by silly words.

It is, however, frustrating to not know what are the possibilities Inaho is worrying about. But Lemrina’s pride won’t let her beg for information he has already refused to impart. She can demand answers again when they manage to procure a map.

If Slaine was around, he’d be able to keep up with Kaizuka and would explain it to me without acting like it’s an obvious conclusion to make.

“Your— Lemrina?” A timid voice brings her back from her reverie, and Lemrina is forced to focus on Eddelrittuo again.

The maid had decided to visit her, and Lemrina didn’t want to cause a stir by refusing to meet.

Worst of all, Eddelrittuo had assured her yet again she’d spend the remainder of her vacation nearby, in case Lemrina wanted her help.

“I apologize, my mind was far off. You were saying?” She asks with a plastered smile.

“N-Not a problem! I just said that it’s amazing how much progress you’ve made!”

Lemrina wants to use her once again functioning legs to kick the girl. Instead she keeps on her smile and pretends to focus on her physical exercise, to avoid having to look at Eddelrittuo.

It’s not, truly, as if the maid has done her ill. She treated Lemrina very well during their time working together, giving her the full respect and attention a legitimate royal member deserved.

… But Lemrina had caught her wistful gazes at her comatose sister. Much like Slaine, Eddelrittuo had seen her as a replacement for Asseylum, and had always hoped that was only temporary.

Of course, if she had forgiven Slaine for that, she could hardly lash out at Eddelrittuo for the same.

No, if the maid’s former actions had simply not created a bond between them, it had not brought out vengeance as well. What was making Lemrina wish to kick the girl out was her actions now. More precisely, her looks.

The pity. The terrible pity in her eyes. Eddelrittuo had never loved her, yet here she is throwing out praises for every little thing. As if she had seen Lemrina as so pitiful and weak that even this much success was beyond expectation. As if she needed validation to succeed. As if she was so miserable she needed the pity of a pathetic little maid who couldn’t even decide her own loyalties.

Slaine is alive. She wants to say that. It would shock Eddelrittuo more than any slap or kick would. She has the words on the tip of her tongue.

You think you can afford to act like I’m beneath you? Like I need your pity and your kindness and your silly little praises? Do you think your words or existence mean anything to me, change anything of mine? Foolish little girl! Pity yourself and the stupid life you’ve led. You gave your all to my sister, did you know she has kept Slaine prisoner all this time? She lied about his involvement, while he is alive and kicking and thanks to her, will never see the light of day! Pity—

She realizes she is stepping too hard and stops, breathing in deeply. To not only shake Eddelrittuo, but even make her fully push away Asseylum would feel vindictive but…

But that feeling would leave, and I’ll just feel guilty. This girl is so young. If my sister, who prepared all her life to rule, can turn out so pathetic, who am I to grow bitter over a little maid, who was taught nothing at all?

So what if she pities me now. I won’t be forced to bear this for long. Soon she will leave, and Kaizuka will treat me like I’m not in rehabilitation at all. Then I can go see Rayet, and Slaine, and Harklight, who will be happy for me but won’t look at me like I’m a charity case…

She sighs. Eddelrittuo is immediately alert.

“Is everything alright? Should I call someone? Can I help?”

Lemrina looks at the eager little face… and pities her instead.

“I might have stepped incorrectly just now, help me to a seat.” She doesn’t request, she demands, even if softly, yet Eddelrittuo happily obliges.

Maybe she doesn’t pity me as much as I think. Maybe what she wants is to be useful. Is she trying to make up for having chosen Asseylum?

… It doesn’t matter. Let her have her peace. I’ve found mine.

As for Slaine… no, she wouldn’t tell her. It would help no one.

Enough people are broken. If all goes well, one day she will know the truth. Let her have her last few moments of innocence.

Eddelrittuo helps her to a seat. Lemrina looks at her and smiles. “Thank you,” she says, then can’t help but giggle.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I apologize for laughing. I’m just… happy I’ve come this far.”

Actually, I’m imagining Rayet’s face if I tell her meeting her has stopped me from lashing out at a martian.

Another week, and finally Lemrina’s legs are good enough that she’s allowed out. She makes a show of telling staff she wants to visit the museum she heard is nearby, and Inaho agrees to take her there.

Inaho glances at Lemrina as they walk unheeded towards the exit of the medical facility. She seems focused on walking but nothing else.

Then again, this won’t be the first terran city she has visited, so it’s expected that she wouldn’t be nervous or excited about it.

They walk through a doorway and find themselves in a crowded corridor, with nurses running left and right, and people with physical disabilities being helped around. Inaho ignores it all, naturally as he’s been walking by alone for a while now, but Lemrina pays attention.

“It’s always surprising when I see how crowded the rest of the facility is,” Lemrina says as they pass by the doorway to a room where some wait in a line for physical training.

“It’s because we have connections, so we are rewarded with more space fully dedicated to us.”

Lemrina sighs. “I know.”

“This way,” Inaho says, then walks without waiting for her. His pace isn’t fast, so Lemrina can keep up without struggle. A good thing, as she’d never put herself low enough to ask Kaizuka to slow down for her sake.

Lemrina looks at their surroundings intently as they walk, then turns to him. “I always wondered, looking at all the buildings, is the sparse population a direct result of the last war only?”

“It depends on the location. Although everywhere was impacted by the last attempted invasion, many locations were already partially abandoned as a result of Heaven’s Fall.”

“... Although Mars is a vast planet, the habitable land is small. I have heard the soldiers talk about it, and seen pictures: the streets are lined with people. They have barely any space to walk, much less live. Meanwhile Earth has all this space… Vers could come here and inhabit it without needing to kill more terrans.”

“It’s not so simple. Not every land is equal in resources. Not everywhere can handle now the population density it once could.”

“I know. I’m just saying, it isn’t impossible.”

Inaho doesn’t bother to answer, as they’ve reached their destination.

The museum was hastily created; Inaho assumes the reasoning being that with the popular medical facility nearby, the museum might thrive.

It was set up in an abandoned office building with a large reception area.

“Lead the way,” Inaho whispers; although he is now certain he is being too cautious, since he can afford to do so, he will.

Lemrina nods, and steps ahead as if leading Inaho to where she wants to go. They pass by the entrance to the martian center as she heads straight to where the Earth exhibit is.

As expected, the room is dominated with a hologram 3-D map of Earth as it is. Thankfully, they are alone.

Inaho reaches out to touch it, and the map amplifies where his fingertip landed.

“It’s interactive, if you want,” he says nonchalantly to Lemrina, who nods and pushes him aside, understanding her cue.

She looks at the map: Inaho had amplified it in Europe.

Was that by chance or is that where he wants me to focus? This is Kaizuka, I’m sure even this was thought out.

Unwilling to ask for more directions, Lemrina focuses on pretending to be engrossed in it.

It soon isn’t pretense.

So much land, and it all had people living in it? Or perhaps, like the city itself, there was so much space for more…

Focus.

Inaho had told her what to look for before they’d arrived, so she simply scrolls around Europe, between the parts Inaho wants and her random choices.

She’s not sure how long she stood there; being able to see a detailed layout of Earth really did interest her, but eventually Inaho cuts her wandering hand.

“You’ve spent too much time at this, let’s go back,” he says, and Lemrina instinctively becomes defensive.

“It wasn’t that long!” She snaps, before realizing it’s likely just his excuse now that he’s seen enough. Lemrina tries to read the conclusion on his face, but it’s fruitless as usual.

Lemrina wishes she could say she patiently waited until they were back to the medical center to demand answers, but she makes it only as far as the empty road before rounding on Inaho.

“So?”

Inaho doesn’t look at her, but his brows crease slightly. “You need to understand this is mere conjecture, although I believe the probability of this happening to be around 80%—”

“Yes, yes! What is your theory?”

“... The Count that is currently aggressively campaigning against the UFE has a protection the last Count did not. His Landing Castle is based deep within the continent, so using abandoned ships like the last operation isn’t a possibility.”

“So the UFE would use the Deucalion? But that is so conspicuous.”

“Yes, too much so. There are abandoned military bases or simply half destroyed cities all over Earth that could be used for a short, secret, operation. Initially I had assumed that the UFE would take time, around months, to slowly arm and staff one of those near the Landing Castle without their movements being noticed. To try and make use of that in a short period without anyone noticing the movement of armaments and personnel would normally not be possible, in the layout.”

“Which is why you thought the Deucalion might be used as a distraction? Because while everyone looks at it, they could operate more freely?”

“Yes, but that is also flawed. Not everyone will focus that much on a simple route change, and not for long enough, unless they plan to have the Deucalion do more for attention. However, it’s been a week and so far there has been no news about it; which brings me to my other theory, which the map has confirmed.”

“Which is?”

“... The Deucalion will be used to transport people and tools to a chosen settlement. Whenever they land in a larger city, they’ll likely get people to secretly board along with equipment, then drop them off at strategic spots. Given the size of the Deucalion, and that the UFE can also supplement what it carries through some small ground operations, they can speed it up and have the bare minimum for training ready in weeks, and launch an attack in less time afterwards.”

“... You got all that from a map.” To her chagrin, Lemrina’s words don’t come at as flat as she hoped, and there’s a small tone of admiration.

If Inaho notices it, he takes no heed and simply shrugs. “Not necessarily just that map. I had previous knowledge I needed to confirm by viewing one.”

“So you knew which settlement they’d use for operations.”

“No, there are countless places and bases that could work. The relevant information isn’t that, but the traceability of the route chosen.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Not all of Earth is covered in connectivity. The war, the destruction, the weapons used all caused spots where signals and transmissions don’t work well or at all unless you are side by side. Even if the Deucalion did carry equipment and people, anyone tracing it would notice if it kept landing in a spot that should have nothing. However, if the Deucalion does the landing in a transmission blind spot, no one far away would be able to tell.”

“So you… knew where the blindspots were?”

“I had a general overview, as it was necessary to either avoid or use them when we were in the Deucalion, especially trying to reach the Russian base. The map was necessary to confirm my memory: the route they are taking does pass through blindspots, two of which are right over abandoned bases.”

“I believe that’s what must be happening.”

“Don’t be too sure just yet. But we might know soon enough, maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll tell Dr. Yagarai I plan to stay another week around here after my treatment is done. If the UFE, however, tells me to go back home when it’s done, or even recalls me before I am done—”

Lemrina sucks in her breath. “They’ll want you to return to prepare to bring in Slaine.”

“Precisely. Obviously they could take longer and take Slaine by other means, but the longer the transport, the more danger of Slaine being seen or escaping there is, which they will never risk. In twenty six days the Deucalion will be on the route point nearest to Slaine’s location, so that is when they’ll want him to board it.”

“Let’s think of something we can do with the information in the meanwhile,” Lemrina says, though what she really means is that she’s hoping Kaizuka can come up with a plan.

“I don’t know if there is anything to be done.”

“There must be!”

But when they arrive back, Dr. Yagarai is waiting for them, looking both grave and apologetic.

“Inaho… I truly am sorry but… your presence was requested back in your home. Your… work has been piling up, it seems.”

Notes:

-A sentence was changed in the last chapter in the exchange between Inaho and Yagarai. I forgot that it was clear the UFE knew Inaho could use aldnoah, and a comment thankfully reminded me. The sentence was changed not long after I posted it, so if you've read last chapter recently, you probably got the corrected setence.

-I forgot to add this to ch39 but, after the 2year wait between ch37 and 38 I never imagined I'd get so many comments. I'm really thankful for everyone who comes back to read despite the ridiculous update frequency and then comment too!

-On how aldnoah works: I talked it over with some people. Many thanks to the Discord group chat for giving me the supposed poem that explain how it works. That said, the whole “oh it works with love/loyalty” thing is… bullshit to me. For many reasons. I wanted to explain them here but… let’s see if the characters don't eventually explain in the fic. If they don't, i'll make a future note explaining the reasoning behind what Ive chosen. because I have given up and decided I need to pick what I want because canon is so filled with plotholes over this that there is no valid answer there.

-My beta has begged me to go back and beta the early chapters (which had no beta). After even commenters started offering to beta those chapters, I came to the conclusion they were really that in need of work, so my beta is not only betaing the new chapter, but has now gone back to do former chapters too. Thank my poor beta. As of this moment, chapters 01 has been redone and reuploaded to AO3 a bit after this new chapter. I need to figure out if reuploading old chapters will make AO3 act like I’m uploading new content. I dont want to reupload and accidently have readers think theres new chapters, so I might only reupload along with new content, depending.

Regardless, here are the changes being made, so you guys dont fret: NO changes to story. No matter how cheesy or clunky i feel dialogue or plot progression used to be, any redoing of written plot will not be done, and in the rare case that I realize I should redo it, I will absolutely warn people in current chapter notes. But i feel like that cheapens the experience and i dont recall a need for that, so assume NO plot content is being altered. Changes are: fixing grammar and punctuation mistakes. Also removing the usage of “blond” “brunet” descriptors, as I’ve since realized using those arent that good and its better to just work harder on sentences to use names without too much repetition. Clunky or cheesy sentences will stay as they were (though my beta is still also fixing those in the current chapters).

-Deucalion is Prometheus son.

#aldnoah.zero #aldnoah zero #orangebat #inasure #slaine troyard #inaho kaizuka #az fic: in carcere #my fic

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incorrect-ikevamp-quotes · 4 years

Note

YO SEBAS’ ROUTE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR JP I CANT WAIT!!! Do you have any theories of what could happen in his route?!?

Haha, yes, I saw this morning! For those who haven’t yet seen the announcement, it has been said that Sebastian’s route will be coming to the JPN version of Ikevamp on August 25th! It’s very exciting news, and I can’t wait to get started translating after I finish Dazai’s.

Honestly I’m finding this so many degrees of hilarious because I was like “oh ya I’m curious” at first, but after seeing that character introduction video with the lil forehead kiss and the horny as all HELL biting, I’m SLAMMING the horny button holy shit??? (I have that card CG in the JPN ver of the game on my phone and. lord jesus. That scowl. WILL HE STEP ON ME ONEGAI AKIHIKO)

Putting the rest under a cut bc is long and has some JPN ver spoilers:

That being said, let’s address the second part of the ask, shall we? Theories! If I’m honest I’m not surprised Sebastian was next on the docket, but I do admit I’m thoroughly surprised by the CG of him biting MC in earnest--he visibly draws blood on her neck and shoulder. This raises so many questions that are likely to be reiterated endlessly until his rt comes out in full, the most pressing of which is: does Sebastian turn into a vampire? Or is he just really into sadistic foreplay?

If I’m honest I sincerely don’t know if he’s fully turned, only because I’m trying to sort out the information we do have. Why turn into a vampire if the goal is to be with MC, who is also human? If we follow this course of thought, it doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it?

But then our boi Sebas is different in terms of his internalized conflict when compared to the vampires. Granted I may turn out to be wrong about this, but I think the two focal points of his route will be as follows: insecurity and the pursuit of knowledge. Remember that the reason Sebastian (our dearest Akihiko Sato) agrees to Comte’s proposal at all is his insatiable curiosity. I mean just think about it. If Comte told all that stuff about the mansion to someone in modern times, they would probably just figure he was a crazy person and go on with their day. But Sebas, the absolute madlad, agreed; he wanted to see if it was true, and to learn everything he could about people who exhibit extraordinary talent.

I foresee that this, however, may become a double-edged sword. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. What I mean to say is that it could be very possible he might turn or undergo something similar to the changing process in order to experience what it’s like firsthand (whether to prove he can handle it or because he wants to understand the residents better/gather info). Furthermore, while Sebastian is curious--with no malicious intent at all--this doesn’t mean that envy is impossible in this kind of scenario, either. Admiration and envy are like two sides of a coin; depending on how one interprets information, they can skew to self-consciousness or inspiration. Given the content I’ve seen for Sebastian so far (and man has it been limited as all heck) I often get the implication that he truly does feel inadequate in some ways compared to the other men. As soon as MC chooses him a kind of overwhelming awareness of his normalcy begins; the implication that he is the wrong or lesser choice. Knowing this, I truly wouldn’t be surprised if problems arise as a result of this self-effacing.

(Note: I don’t think that about Sebastian at all, personally! I think he’s very mindful of others and really astute--to say nothing of his skill when it comes to the domestic sphere. I don’t think just anybody could do what he does, and he sells himself far too short. I always think of how the men call him the Ninja Butler and praise how capable he is, how they freely admit the place wouldn’t be the same without him. Sometimes I wish Sebas could see that, though I understand his concerns as well ;-; I’m always torn bc I’ll be like “I understand but alSO N O”)

Besides those latent insecurities, time to expand more on the pursuit of knowledge. In one way this drive might feed his self-derision; he might believe that the more he is able to do and understand and study, the more he can be of use/help other people. (Put simply his value as a person = the increasing extent of his knowledge in an almost linear relationship; without it he is nothing). On the other hand, I think he just genuinely enjoys collecting information the way he does! He likes assessing all the different ways people behave and why, and how this contributes to how they think and who they are. More insight offers him more ways to preoccupy his endlessly moving mind, but it also offers proximity with the subject in question. This to me is absolutely key--I think so much of his studying the great men is linked to his admiration, his wish to be like them and/or his wish to be close to them.

I’d like to address a quick reference to the drinking event that recently released in the ENG version of the app, if only to expand on/clarify where this is coming from. It essentially featured Sebastian and Napoleon sharing a drink together at a bar and in it, Sebastian speaks to the way that he encountered Napoleon in his life, and the reason why he grew so fond of him. He speaks to a childhood entirely detached from the people of his own time, roving through the shelves of libraries, reading endlessly to fill that void. It was a quote by Napoleon that caught his eye and inspired him, and ostensibly the words of people long past that gave him the strength to keep moving forward. This information, coupled with his strange excitement in Isaac’s rt introduction about how Isaac used to throw hands with people who mocked him seems to bring to the forefront a few things for me.

Sebastian is highly, highly individualistic: he doesn’t seem to care much about what is conventional or normal, only in what brings him joy and makes others comfortable/happy. His life is highly internal, but I sense no anti-sociality in this removal from societal expectations. He just lives his own way and tries not to trouble anyone. (This is also highly notable in his acute impatience with Dazai’s shenanigans/ineptitudes now and again; while he doesn’t always scold or explode, he shows a sharp and surprising impatience with willful/harmful/irresponsible behavior.) He’s tactful and measured, but highly excitable under the right circumstances. He also doesn’t seem to think much of his own life re: self-derision. Think Leonardo’s rt ending: he insists that the serial killer focus on him and not on MC, he tells her he has no qualms with dying if it means she’ll make it out alive. MC has to be the one to tell him to think more of his own life. As such I wouldn’t put it past him to have enough nerdy reckless energy to test the waters of being a vampire (all the better if it helps him understand the great men).

Comte once said it in an event story a few months ago, but I think he really hit the nail on the head in some respects. He says something to the effect of “His curiosity is admirable, but please Sebastian--some things are to remain private.” Sebastian doesn’t intend to be intrusive or malicious, he just likes knowing things for the sake of knowing. It’s about the cones answering his nerdy desire to piece things together, not stepping on people’s toes. (It’s nice too because Comte seems to understand this and doesn’t see it as a shortcoming/nuisance, he just tries to nudge Sebas in a different direction if he starts prying too close to people’s personal business ;-; pls pardon the Comte love I just can’t help myself)

Enter Johann Georg Faust.

Now then we know very little about the reserved priest doctor, but there are tidbits of information that we can work with (or at the very least, stand out to me a lot). The one I would like to focus on for this explanation is the little blurb that appears when you open the Ikevamp app and it’s loading, providing something like trivia facts for each character. In the ENG app we got those early, but we don’t have the ones for our antagonists. Iirc, Faust’s reads something to the effect of “will often sneak substances into their (as in the castle residents Vlad and Charles’) food to test the effect of his concoctions on vampires.” There have been hints that Faust is to be our mad scientist of sorts; that he is experimenting under Vlad’s orders to find a reliable way to transform a human being into an immortal equivalent to that of a pureblood. But I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I really don’t think Faust is only doing all of this for Vlad. He has his own curiosity that is seeking to be alleviated, perhaps he is satisfied with having another puzzle dumped in his lap--a means to distract himself and exhaust his faculties.

(One has to wonder if Vlad turned them under the same principle of desperation, and if that were the case, what Faust and Charles might desire more than anything else...Is Faust operating on a kind of necessity to atone? Has he simply given up hope that scientific advancement can happen without someone getting hurt, and so he does his best to balance the good and bad wrought by his explorations? Is he trying to bring someone back himself, is he trying to stall Vlad’s efforts in his own way? I really can’t be sure; there are just too many unanswered questions when it comes to Faust...)

This is where Sebastian and Faust begin to overlap. The pursuit of knowledge, an insatiable curiosity, a capacity to overreach the bounds of appropriate civility/decorum to get the information they want. It could potentially serve as a temptation for Sebas; become a vampire by Vlad’s hand and you can watch history over the span of generations. Assist in the development of an immortal, and you won’t even need someone like Comte to walk you through the different eras of time--you could explore yourself. While Sebas seems to be motivated more by service to other people, there can be no doubt that this could cause a great deal of friction. He will have to work to remind himself why he’s doing what he does and what it means to him, and whether or not becoming a vampire is truly what he wants.

But, there is also the issue of Vlad’s telepathic manipulations. Is it possible that an encounter with Faust (and by extension, proximity to Vlad/meeting Vlad head-on) could result in Sebastian being turned/experimented on without his knowledge? I.e. Vlad using his compulsion and sending him home with a word or memory of what happened. Though that’s certainly not the only possible explanation available. The other thing I was thinking about was a mechanic that was introduced in event stories prior to Sebas’ MS announcement. In the event story, MC and her suitor of choice encounter a street merchant that boasts a serum that can turn people into vampires. They, of course, don’t believe him--but the vial is procured and MC either purposefully or accidentally is exposed to it (i.e she knocks it over and it shatters in Leo’s ES). For a brief time, she exhibits vampiric qualities; she feels the thirst for blood as acutely as any of the other vampires in the mansion. I.e. In Napoleon’s ES, Sebas notices something wrong with MC when they’re just pouring vials of Rouge--the usual prepwork--and she runs out of the room looking dazed. Her odd/new instincts are only alleviated when she bites and drinks Napoleon’s blood, but after that single episode she shows no further signs of vampiric qualities. It’s a temporary but acute transformation. While I have no specifics as to how this is possible, I have to wonder if something similar might be done to Sebastian; whether as a means to test him (does he really want this? find out after the commercial break) or a kind of trick/trap laid by the antagonists. I remain unsure, but these are the two most likely explanations that come to mind if he hasn’t been fully turned.

As to whether or not his vampirism will be permanent, I’ve genuinely been oscillating on that one. I think it’s certainly possible given his intrigue (I never see much fear in him) with vampirism and his probable enjoyment with the prospect of an endless life learning about things (I can literally hear Leonardo screaming internally and I’m ngl it’s sad and funny). But there’s also something about the bite CG that speaks to strain/alarm, to surprise--that he wasn’t at all aware of the changes within himself--and I have to wonder if it might put him off of the prospect (like that he lost control/hurt MC)...Essentially I think it will just really boil down to how the symptoms come about (temporary or permanent), and how much his affections for MC might deter that curiosity/possible wish (if temporary, he might not touch the prospect again--if permanent, THAT WOULD BE SO FUCKING SEXY BECAUSE I’d wager the rest of the route might be MC trying to help him adjust/recover IN A SEXY WAY).

(Note post-translation: I fucking HATE IT HERE. The bite CG text says smth to the effect of “The bloodlust is unbearable--stay away from me; I don’t think I’ll be able to keep from attacking you.”) In light of this information, I am this 👌 close to launching myself straight into the sun. OFC his route is gonna be sweet as all shit and then it’s just gonna go downhill from there with angst. WHYYYYYYYYYY AKIHIKO (at least his voice is mega sexy and heals my wounds OTL) It also says something about “a fate that is greatly moved” so that does suggest a more permanent change than the temporary alternatives I mentioned (though we all know how Cybird loves to jerk us around so I’m leaving that up for debate)...this shit better be hurt/comfort or i s2g im throwing hands

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME!!!!!!!

Here’s hoping he’ll make for a delightful surprise! I’m looking forward to it c:

#asks #ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp sebastian #ikevamp akihiko sato #ikevamp meta #bruh i woke up to so much yelling and im still reeling from the developments #hello????? sebas lookin tender AND sexy and im ngl i am v much here for it my ass pass is SHAKING #i genuinely didn't think i'd be this curious/intrigued but now that i saw the introduction vid im just #👉👈 i am looking RESPECTFULLY #man im quaking i guess its time to translate all the sebas stories i have and think about my hubris #like i thought sebas would be the whole 'you get a human suitor if you dont want the vampire stuff as much'#and so i was like #'i do not see my ass loves vampires too much for this'#but then he went vamp in the preview and im just YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! **RIPS SHIRT OPEN**#bruh this changes literally everything #come here you giant nerd and let me punch a whole straight through that v card #history aint got nothin on this dynamite [REDACTED]#rambles #anywho if you need me ill be replaying the vid over and over again #ty cybird for sparing some serotonin in these trying times LMAO

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prrplwtch · 4 years

Note

Do you have any hcs for the brothers seeing MC with hickeys, but it's not from them? I thought it would be pretty ~spicy~, thank you so much!

Hi nonnie :) Sound like fun 💜For the purposes of these hedacanons, I’m assuming that MC doesn’t kiss and tell - aka the brothers don’t know who the “perpetrator” of hickeys is. And writing these headcanons got even me curious about who MC’s lover is lmao

Lucifer:

Lucifer notices it accidentally - when MC reaches over to hand him some papers, the collar of her blouse moves ever so slightly, revealing a deep red mark just under her collarbone. He knows it is a love bite as soon as he sees it.

Suddenly finds himself overcome with two emotions - anger & jealousy. Anger at whoever put this on her, and jealousy because he wants to be the one to do it.

It takes a moment for him to calm and compose himself, and he hopes that MC did not notice his reaction.

Likely would not mention anything to her directly, although might put in a comment warning her against “indulging in behavior not-befitting a person participating in an exchange program.”

Will do his best to keep his eye on her - he simply must know who it is that she’d been involved with.

Might try to keep her in the House of Lamentations more - through chores assignments in the like.

If she’s not out and about she won’t be able to...Unless, of course whoever did that is one of his brothers.

Will not stop in his attempts to find out who the person who left hickeys on MC is - even though logically he understands that it’s a waste of time, jealousy still drives him forward.

Lucifer will also likely distance himself from MC - he does not like the fact that a human is having such an impact on him at all.

Mammon:

If it was in a less obvious place, Mammon likely would not have noticed, but one day, when he comes to see MC in her room, she’s wearing a pretty low-cut t-shirt and there are a few deep red marks on the side of her neck, just under her jaw.

“MC, have you been h-...” Oh. Oh no.

Is immediately a mess from being overcome with jealousy - he knows those are love bites. WHO THE HELL DID THIS?

Will likely leave MC’s room and then avoid her for a while. On the one hand he wants to be close to her, of course, but on the other hand, he cannot handle the thought that someone else had been with her in the way that he’d only dreamed of.

Mammon will get really sad - it is his human after all and whoever the other person was was trying to take away from him something that he held so dear.

Might try to find out who it is MC is seeing/sleeping with, however, after his attempts turn out to be unsuccessful, will stop avoiding MC in the hopes that spending time with her will point him to the identity of the “perpetrator.”

He’d already been seeing quite a few...explicit dreams about MC, but his brain’s new favorite seems to be the dream, where he’s the one leaving hickeys all over MC’s body.

Is really torn - on one hand, spending time with MC knowing that she’s sleeping with someone else is bitter beyond imagining, but, on the other, being without her is worse.

Might try to get his brothers to help him find out who MC’s secret lover is, until it occurs to him that it might be one of them.

Leviathan:

Levi would have ignored the bright red mark that he saw at the base of MC’s neck, if he did not just watch an anime, where one of the characters had a love bite in exact same spot, that looked just like that.

Immediately cue feeling of intense jealousy - MC was doing that with someone?

Will likely want to be as far away from MC as possible, since, looking at her, all he can think of is her being in someone else’s embrace, and the ver image hurts.

After initial wave of jealousy subsides ever so slightly, the low self-esteem comes out. And what did I expect, that she’d be with me, of all people? Who’d ever want to be with a yucky otaku like me?

Unlike his other brothers, Levi does not actually want to think about who the object of MC’s affections is - the thought of her with someone else already hurts plenty, and if he knew who that was...

Will be spending even more time in his room than he already is, in an attempt to avoid MC. Yes, he’s never made his feelings for MC clear, but MC should have known!

Levi will focus on his hobbies in order to get over the pain - anime/dating sim/etc. After all, 2D girls don’t disappoint, and they don’t act all nice around you and then go and get involved with someone else.

Gets very sad over the whole ordeal, to the extent that it even worries his brothers, though he does not want to talk to them all that much either - during the hours he’d spent agonizing over who MC’s lover might be, it had occurred to him that it’s possible it was one of his brothers.

Levi will definitely breathe a sigh of relief when MC leaves the Devildom.

Satan:

Satan, MC and Asmo are in the demonology classroom, trying to get a headstart on the homework. As MC shifts in her chair, pulling one of her legs under her, Satan suddenly notices two deep red bruises on the inner side of her thigh, just under the hem of her skirt. Was she hurt?

“Ooh, looks like someone’s been having fun,” Asmo whispers to him. “What?” Satan asks, confused.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know those are lovebites,” Asmo says, “And in such a delicate place too...”

Bright blush spreads across Satan’s cheeks once he understands, and a searing hot rage rises in his chest. Someone was doing what with MC?

He tries to reason with himself, of course, tries telling himself that it’s illogical to feel that way - after all, MC did not know he liked her, and, even if she did, who would ever love him back? - but he cannot help the way he feels.

Doesn’t like how jealous he feels, yet, at the same time, cannot help but wish that it was he who was marking MC’s skin with love bites.

Will likely want to know who it was that MC was seeing - he’ll tell himself, of course that it’s only because he’s worried for MC’s safety, but, in truth, his insecurities definitely play a role in him wanting to find out who MC’s lover is. He hopes it’s not Lucifer.

At the same time, will likely pull away from MC. Since Satan’s realized that he’s in love with her, it is quite hard for him to be around her knowing, that she’s involved - romantically or sexually with someone else. Luckily for him, he’s mastered calm, indifferent demeanor a long time ago, so it would not be that hard to pretend that he does not care. Oh, but he cares so much.

Likely won’t try to enlist help of his brothers in trying to find out who MC’s lover is because he knows it’s entirely possible that it’s one of them.

Probably will try to go low contact with MC until she leaves the Devildom.

Asmodeus:

When Asmo sees the two bright red marks on the inner side of MC’s thigh, just under the hem of her skirt, he knows exactly what it is.

Unlike his other brothers, he’s much more likely to approach her about it and ask who she’s been having fun with. Like his other brothers, he’ll be quite disappointed when he does not get any information out of her.

Still, he’s rather curious, so he’ll try to find out by himself, who it is that MC was having...encounters with. After all, if it was someone hot, perhaps, the three of them can have some fun together.

Might enlist help of some of his brothers to help him look into this situation.

But, seeing how guarded MC is with the information, and the fact that his investigation does not seem to yield him any information, Asmo gets quite sad.

He’d been hoping that MC loved liked him back, just like he loved liked her, but, from the way she acted about this, it seemed that it was not the case. That she’d already picked someone else despite the fact that Asmo’s heart belonged to her.

That sadness would likely drive him to up his promiscuous behavior - after all, what’s better to soothe the pain of rejection than the embraces of others. As it turns out, however, no amount of one night stands can quite cure the hurt of a broken heart.

Asmo likely won’t avoid MC, because that’s not the kind of person he is, but he’ll definitely be much colder with her than usually.

Also would not give up attempts to hit on MC, especially when drunk, because there is still hope in him that she might change her mind and see that he’s better for her than whoever her lover is.

Beelzebub:

Beel, Belphie and MC are in the living room of the house of lamentation, doing some decorations for the Devildom holidays. As MC reaches up to hang a garland over the fireplace, her t-shirt rides up, and Beel can see a few red marks on her lower stomach.

“It looks like MC has been hurt,” he tells Belphie, who glances over as well. “Don’t be naive,” Belphie tells him, “Those are love bites.”

Beel knows, of course, what that is, but somehow in his head, it’s quite strange to see MC covered in them.

There is an unfamiliar sensation in the pit of his stomach, like hunger, but much much worse. It scares him.

He doesn’t think he’s upset by the fact that MC’s taken a lover - he has no right to be, after all - and he wishes her only happiness, and still...He cannot help but feel sad over the fact that she seems to be involved with someone else. When he loves her this much... But then again, what good can my love do for her?

Unlike some of his other brothers, he will not avoid MC - he likes spending time with her and really appreciates her friendship and company, so he’ll stay by her side. Even if it hurts immensely to know that she is with someone else.

Might try to find out who MC’s lover is, and, if he decides to do it, will likely ask Belphie for help. Belphie would really rather not participate in this, but he cannot refuse Beel.

Overall, not much will change in his relationship with MC, at least on the surface. But on the inside Beel would feel sad and empty - and might overindulge in his sin in order to get over the feeling of emptiness.

When MC leaves, however, unlike some of his brothers, he would not feel relieved, just sad - because even if she did not love him, he did really love her.

Belphegor:

The second Belphie sees the deep red marks on MC’s lower stomach, as he t-shirt rides up ever so slightly - he knows what they are.

He also knows that he should not care - after all MC’s just someone he knew for a few short month - and he hasn’t even told her about his feelings - and yet the fact that she’s taken a lover burns more than he could have anticipated.

Belphie’s likely to try and maintain his indifferent demeanor, but at the same time he’ll pull away from MC, because of the way this whole situation affects him.

A part of him is curious, of course, who that lover is. He hopes it’s not someone he hates, like Lucifer or Diavolo because the thought of them happy with MC fills him with rage.

Might try to find out who this mysterious “lover” is, although likely will give up on trying if the first few attempts do not succeed.

Belphie’s likely to start spending even more time in the attic because it’s much easier to avoid MC that way. Will likely spend less time in his room because Beel would still want to hang out with MC despite the fact that she’d taken a lover.

Will have issues with sleep because his brain will take quite a pleasure in torturing him with images of MC in the embrace of Lucifer or Diavolo.

Whenever MC tries to talk to him, will act dismissive and indifferent - after all, she does not seem to like him back, so what’s the point in all of this.

Belphie’s really looking for the exchange program to be over, because, as time passes, it’s harder and harder to maintain an indifferent demeanor and pretend that he does not care the MC’s involved with someone else.

HC list

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

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bitterlikesweets · 3 years

Text

Love Bites Ch 16

This is the sixteenth chapter of a modern/vampire AU ereri fanfic. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special | 15 | 16

"Look, I'm sorry. It was my idea—"

"Yeah, no shit, now shut up and drink."

It took them at least five minutes to calm down, and another five for Mikasa and Eren to stop giggling every time they looked at Levi's scowling face, notebook still in hand (it didn't help that he kept muttering "shitty sparkly vampire movie" under his breath). But after Levi sent the two of them death glares, and Armin curled up in a literal ball on the floor beside Levi, Eren figured it was time to get back on track.

Levi drops his arm on the table. They've all gotten situated in new seats, with Levi at the head of the table and Eren and Armin on either side of him. Mikasa sits on the other side of Eren, but as Eren noisily scoots his chair closer to Levi's, she follows and ends up across from Armin.

"First things first," Levi says, looking at Mikasa and Armin, "Eren drinks from the wrist. He always bites in the right spot, so there's no need to worry about that."

Armin raises his hand, and Eren drops his head to rest his cheek against Levi's forearm, closing his eyes. So much informational stuff. He feels like zoning out.

"This isn't a school," Levi says, "but sure, Armin, go ahead."

"Oh, um." Armin laughs awkwardly and lowers his arm. "Right, sorry, uh… Is there a reason why he doesn't bite you on the neck?"

"Several actually—"

Eren really does zone out this time, moving his cheek from Levi's arm to the table so that he can easily lace their fingers together. Levi won't care if he doesn't really pay attention, right? He's told Eren all this before, anyway. There are a bunch of reasons not to drink from the neck. Concerns about turning, too close to the heart, super intimate—

Well, the "intimate" part of it probably isn't as much of a problem anymore.

"Eren."

Eren's eyes flutter open, and he finds himself looking up at Levi as the man leans over him.

"You're getting the full amount today, for the first time since you were sick. You might get more drunk than usual."

"Drunk?" Mikasa asks.

"Blood drunk. You'll understand soon."

"I'll be fine," Eren says, raising his head off the table.

He should be fine, anyway. That was the whole point of them spreading his drinking schedule out and starting with only a bit of blood at a time. All he needed was for his stomach to get used to it. Eren feels plenty used to it now. Who knows if he’ll even feel blood drunk this time around? Maybe he’s already built up a good tolerance. That's how alcohol ended up working out for him.

Eren just hopes his body doesn’t vomit all the blood out to prove him wrong.

He curls his fingers around Levi’s arm, bringing it up to meet his lips. His eyes slip shut as the warm liquid hits his tongue, and Levi’s free hand lands upon his head, pale fingers sliding into his hair.

“Is that, um—” Armin clears his throat. “Is that necessary? Does it help him, I mean.”

Eren’s only half listening. He’s distracted by the way Levi’s blood sates his parched throat, by the way the heat spreads through his veins. It’s as sweet as ever, like warm honey, but a little bit easier to get down. Warm honey with a metallic tang, a savory undertone.

It’s so nice that Eren forgets that this is the first time his friends have ever seen him drink blood—excluding that time with the wine glass on the day he met Levi. So nice that Eren forgets he should be worried about them being disgusted by actually seeing his fangs at work, by the proof that their friend isn’t a human anymore.

Even if he did remember, Levi is with him. Levi said he doesn’t see Eren as a monster. If Levi doesn’t, then his lifelong friends shouldn’t see him that way either.

Right?

“Not necessary, exactly,” Levi says. “I pull his hair to get him to stop drinking because he doesn’t remember on his own just yet. I could tell him to stop, but this is faster.”

“Oh, okay…”

“You won’t have to worry about it, if he ever drinks from you. I’ll teach him the right way by then.”

Eren lets out a little grumble at that, and Levi combs his fingers through Eren’s hair.

“Something wrong?”

Eren shakes his head, but his eyebrows are furrowed.

Something about the thought of drinking blood that’s not Levi’s rubs Eren the wrong way. Obviously, Eren knows that’s part of the reason he brought his friends here in the first place, but…

It just doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t want anybody else’s blood. He wants Levi’s. He’s with Levi now anyway. Does he even have to consider drinking Mikasa or Armin’s blood?

The tug at Eren’s scalp brings his attention back to the present, and he pulls away from Levi’s wrist with a slight sigh, swiping his tongue across the bite marks.

“You okay?” Levi asks as Eren slowly raises his head.

Eren hums a little, taking stock of his body. He’s not nauseous—thank God—and he feels warm all over, but other than that…

“Just warm,” Eren says, giving Levi a little thumbs up.

When the entire room lets out a sigh of relief, Eren rolls his eyes, dropping his head onto Levi’s shoulder.

“You guys need to relax,” Eren says, wiggling a disapproving finger in the direction of his friends. “I’m… totally fine… Big chillin’...”

Okay. Maybe not just warm. Eren can practically feel his thoughts slowing down. But that’s whatever. That’s fine. Totally nothing to worry about.

“‘Big chillin.’” Levi echoes with a scoff. “That’s a new one for you.”

“What d’you mean?” Eren asks with a frown. “I say that, like… all the time. I’m constantly in a state of chill. Big chillin’ all the time.”

“Sure.”

Mikasa whistles, dropping her chin onto the back of her hands as she looks at Eren with a small smile.

“There’s a lot about this that’s new,” she says.

“Whaat?” Eren asks. “Fuck off. I’m always like this. All the time.”

“Really?” she asks. “Have I been missing something or are you just constantly drunk whenever I’m not around?”

“‘M not drunk,” Eren grumbles. “I’m a heavyweight. Heavy. Weight. ‘S impossible for me to get drunk.”

Usually. It’s usually impossible for him to get drunk. Blood’s so weird that way. Can he get used to blood or is it always going to hit him this hard? Oh, but does he even want to get used to blood? He doesn’t want to get too used to it. He likes that it tastes super delicious every time. He feels like it’s only getting tastier the more he drinks it. Is he going to get drunker every time he drinks it? Eren’s not sure if he wants that. One of these days, he’s going to drink blood and just instantly pass out…

“Woah there, big guy.”

Eren feels arms around his waist, tugging him up and back until he’s leaning against Levi’s chest. Was he sliding out of his chair? Levi’s so nice, always noticing stuff like that… Eren’s so lucky.

He turns his head to nuzzle his face into Levi’s neck. He’s good though, careful to keep his mouth closed and his fangs away from any exposed skin. He’s so full right now anyway. He just likes to have his face there, to feel and hear Levi’s pulse thrumming beneath his skin.

It kind of makes his own neck itchy, though. Right where his bite scars are. Eren wonders why that is. Even when he scratches it, it keeps itching.

“Yeah, no,” Mikasa says. “This is definitely new.”

“I’m guessing he doesn’t get drunk often,” Levi says.

“Ne-ver. Never,” Eren cuts in. “Always the… DD when we go to bars. Mr. Designated Driver, they call me.”

“Nobody calls you that, Eren,” Mikasa says.

“And I’m usually the DD,” Armin says, “because I don’t drink, and you make me nervous whether you’re acting drunk or not.”

“Don’t tell Levi that, assholes… Stop trying to make me look not cool in front of him.”

“It’s not us that are making you look not cool, Eren.”

Levi just chuckles, and Eren smiles, pressing his face against Levi’s shoulder. It’s nice, hearing Levi’s laugh from this close. Levi’s arms curl a little tighter around him.

“You’re plenty cool, Eren.”

“Ah ha!” Eren exclaims loudly, lifting his head away from Levi’s neck just long enough to glare at Mikasa. “See? This’s why Levi’s my favorite. He’s not mean to me… unless I want it.”

“What?”

Levi lets out a sound like he’s choking, and Eren’s not sure why. He was just telling the truth. They both play at bullying each other. Levi calls him little shit… Eren calls him a dumbass... It’s all in good fun. Just teasing.

“Don’t read into that,” Levi says.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t want to,” Mikasa replies.

“See, this is new too,” Armin says. “It’s not just Eren being drunk. It’s that.”

“That?” Levi repeats.

“Him being so… affectionate.”

Eren’s not sure if Armin actually sounds bitter or if Eren's just not over the fact that Levi made him laugh earlier. Not that Levi’s not allowed to make other guys laugh. It’s just… Eren’s not used to it. Not used to seeing Levi around other people. When he does see Levi with other people, Levi’s usually bullying the fuck out of them. Unless it's Petra. But Eren likes Petra. Not that Eren doesn’t like Armin. He loves Armin—

“Eren hasn’t dated anyone since high school,” Armin continues. “And that relationship—”

“Armin, maybe you shouldn’t.”

“No,” Levi says. “You brought it up. Let me hear it.”

Eren loves Armin, so he’s not sure why it rubbed Eren the wrong way. Maybe it’s not about Levi being nice at all and more about how Armin reacted. Because Armin’s so bad with people. He avoids them, lets Mikasa and Eren take the lead first. He doesn’t go out of his way to talk to strangers, and there’s usually no way Armin is comfortable enough to laugh—

“It’s just that Eren’s last relationship ended pretty badly. Because Eren barely let the guy touch him, and when they kissed—”

Wait.

“Are you guys… talking about Jean?”

Mikasa sighs.

“See, I told you that you shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“I was just explaining why I thought how Eren acts with Levi is weird—”

“Noo,” Eren says, shifting in Levi’s arms and rubbing his eyes with his hands. “That’s because Jean… wasn’t right.”

“Wasn’t right how?” Levi asks.

Eren scowls. His bite scars are itchy again, even though his face isn’t near Levi’s neck anymore. Maybe it’s thinking about Jean that’s doing it.

“Thought I was into him,” Eren mumbles, “but whenever he touched me, I just… didn’t feel good. Tried telling him, but he didn’t get it. Thought I was just fucking with him. So I punched him in the face when we kissed. Haven’t wanted anybody but my friends to touch me since.”

Levi’s hands on Eren’s waist grow tense.

“And where’s this Jean guy now?”

“Hmm?” Eren shakes his head. “Dunno. We’re cool though. He thinks I’m nuts ‘cause I was the one who asked him out in the first place… Dating our friend Marco now, I think.”

“We tried to warn him,” Mikasa says.

“Eren’s just been like that for as long as we’ve known him,” Armin adds. “He doesn’t like to be touched when he knows it’s romantic. Even when it’s somebody he likes that way.”

“Mm,” Eren mumbles with a serious nod. “But Levi’s good. Like it when it’s Levi.”

And suddenly Levi’s hands are relaxed again.

“...You sure?” Levi asks quietly.

“Yeah,” Eren says, nodding again. “With Levi… Big chillin.’”

Mikasa snorts.

“That’s good,” Armin says. “I’m… glad.”

“Mmhmm…” Eren tilts his head, sliding slightly across Levi’s chest. “Probably ‘cause we’re soulmates.”

“...Huh?”

One of Levi’s arms moves away, and Eren frowns over at him to see Levi’s face buried in one of his hands.

“Whaaat?” Eren asks, trying to pull Levi’s hand away from his face. “We are! We’re soulmates. Vampire soulmates!”

“Vampire… soulmates,” Mikasa echoes.

“It’s a long story,” Levi says. “It’s not even—”

“We are,” Eren says firmly. “Say we’re not and ‘m gonna beat you up.”

Levi’s fingers spread slightly, and Eren can see a skeptical gray eye through the gap.

“Really. You’re going to beat me up.”

“Yeah,” Eren says, but then he frowns.

He doesn’t want to beat Levi up. He knows that Levi thinks it’s just a stupid myth. And it’s not like Eren has any proof. Maybe if he had some proof, he could feel a little more justified about beating Levi up. Let’s see, where could he get proof…

“If I call Erwin,” Eren says slowly, “and he says ‘yeah, vampire soulmates are totally real,’ then ‘m gonna beat you up.”

Levi just sighs and shakes his head.

“Sure. Go right ahead.”

“Vampire soulmates,” Mikasa says again.

“W-who’s Erwin?” Armin exclaims loudly, and Eren watches as Levi’s shoulders sag with relief.

“Good question. I actually need to get you his contact info.”

Levi’s arms retreat, and Eren frowns, the hazy heat in his head clearing his head slightly as he tries to wrap his head around what Levi just said. Why would Mikasa and Armin need Erwin’s contact info? Erwin knows a lot of vampire stuff, sure, but shouldn’t they just go to Levi if they have questions?

Levi completely pulls away, stepping out of his chair, and Eren slumps in his own seat, his head in his hands. He doesn’t get it.

“Erwin’s a vampire I know,” Levi says, coming back to the table with a pen and paper in hand. “If anything ever happens with Eren that you don’t know what to do about, Erwin will know. If not, there’s Hanji—another vampire. I’ll give you their number too—”

“Stop,” Eren says, lifting his head up.

Mikasa and Armin are looking at Eren with concerned frowns, but Eren’s focus is on Levi.

“Why?” Eren asks.

“Why what?”

“Why shouldn’t they just call you?”

Levi shakes his head.

“This is if I’m not around.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

“If something happens to me—”

“No!” Eren shakes his head furiously. “No, nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

Levi’s expression goes soft, and he slides the page he was writing on to Armin before coming back to Eren’s side.

“Mikasa,” Armin says, snatching up the paper and rushing to her side of the table. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” she repeats with a frown. “Eren drove us here—”

“We’ll figure it out,” Armin hisses, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her out of her seat. “Now let’s go.”

“Okay, okay!”

And then it’s just Eren and Levi alone in the break room.

“Eren—”

“Why would you say that?” Eren asks. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

“It was just a precaution—”

“That’s not the problem!” Eren exclaims, his hands clenching into fists. “That’s not—why is it just you? Why's it just you that something bad happens to? I’m here. I’m with you.”

“Eren, I’m the one of us with the dangerous job—”

“Then take me with you!” Eren exclaims, grabbing hold of Levi’s arms. “I’m here. I’m learning to fight. I can help you. I can keep you safe.”

Levi frowns.

“I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“And you think I want you getting hurt?”

Levi’s eyes grow wide for a moment as Eren's grip tightens on his arm. A moment later and Levi lets out a quiet sigh, kneeling down in front of where Eren is sitting.

“I… see what you’re saying.”

“Say you’re going to take me with you.”

“Eren—”

“I’m serious!” Eren says, his eyes burning and his sight getting blurry. “I can’t—you have to say you’ll take me with you.”

Levi’s gray-eyed gaze lowers, and for a second Eren thinks that’s he really not going to say it. Is that Levi’s plan? To just go off on his own somewhere and die? Even leaving Eren out of it, it’s a stupid plan. What about Isabel, Furlan, and Petra? What about his family and the people who love him—

“...Okay.”

“What?”

“Okay,” Levi says, louder now, laying his hands over Eren’s knees. “I’ll take you with me.”

Eren’s grip on Levi’s arms loosens slightly, though he still can’t hold back his frown.

“I’m with you,” Eren says, scooting forward and leaning down, closer to Levi.

“I know.”

“I can help you.”

“I know.”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to go alone?”

Levi sighs.

“...No.”

“No?”

“They told me ‘be safe,’” Levi says. “If I even told them I was going. Most of the time I didn’t.”

“...You’re a dick, Levi.”

For some reason, that makes Levi laugh, and Levi moves closer, resting his head on Eren’s thighs.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not allowed to do that to me.”

“Okay.”

“I’m serious. I’ll beat you up.”

“Okay.”

Eren sighs, moving his hands from Levi’s arms to Levi’s shoulders. The heat of his anger is quickly cooling back to regular, blood drunk warmth, though he’s not quite as hazy as he was before.

“‘M sorry,” Eren says. “For yelling at you.”

Levi shakes his head.

“No, I earned it. I just… If something were to happen to me—just me—I worried that you… that you wouldn’t be okay. I wanted to prepare.”

“Not gonna happen,” Eren says, squeezing Levi’s shoulders. “I’m a whole ass vampire, you know? I can protect you. As soon as you teach me to fight, ‘m gonna be way stronger than you anyway.”

“You’re right,” Levi says.

“Gonna get waaay stronger than you and then we’ll be big chillin.’”

Levi opens his eyes just to roll them at Eren.

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“What d’you mean? I always say that.”

Levi heaves a huge sigh before getting to his feet, patting Eren’s legs one last time.

“Sure, big guy.”

Eren’s nose scrunches in annoyance.

“Don’t like it when you say it like that. ‘M a big guy, but that’s good.”

“Right, right.”

Eren’s eyes narrow as he watches Levi walk towards the door.

“Why’re you leaving?”

“Somebody needs to tell your friends that they don’t need to walk home, and you’re not able to do it.”

“Ohh… Okay.”

Levi pauses with his hand on the doorknob, looking at Eren over his shoulder.

“You be good and don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” Levi says, pushing the door open.

“Yeah,” Eren says, nodding, “I’m Levi’s good boy. Won’t do anything stupid.”

Levi trips on his way out the door, the tips of his ears burning red.

“N-not what I said,” Levi says firmly.

“Hmm?”

It takes Petra squealing and wolf whistling for Eren to realize, ohhh, he’s definitely going to regret everything he just said once he’s sober again.

#ereri #riren #ereri riren #ereri fanfic #riren fanfic #fanfiction #posting a day early as an apology for missing last week :)

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jounetsunosymphonia · 4 years

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Sympathy for the Angel (Mankai Stage Autumn & Winter 2019 translation)

translation for the stage version of winter’s debut play! the song can be listened to in full here.

woooo sympathy time. i decided against putting the stage directions in like i did for lucifer because like...they’re less detailed since we kinda know how sympathy is supposed to go anyway? yeh.

cast list

Tsukioka Tsumugi (Aramaki Yoshihiko) as Michael Takato Tasuku (Kitazono Ryo) as Raphael Mikage Hisoka (Ueda Keisuke) as Uriel Arisugawa Homare (Tanaka Ryousei) as Metatron Yukishiro Azuma (Ueda Kandai) as Philip

All Feelings that cannot be A sorrowful destiny A song of lament For an angel who fell in love with a human

Metatron This is Heaven, where the angels reside High above the land of mortals There, three wonderful angels lived—Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.

Raphael: You've fallen for a human woman?

Michael: ...yes.

Uriel: Eh. So that's why you've just been looking down there lately.

Raphael: Don't be stupid, Michael. If you fall for a human, you're only going to get yourself hurt.

Michael, Raphael, Uriel I want to keep her safe I want to offer my protection

Michael My beloved, so fragile and fleeting

Michael, Raphael, Uriel Even if all that awaits is a miserable fate where I'll only become unhappy

Michael: Even then, I—

Uriel: I won't stop you, but...her death is soon approaching.

Michael: Eh…?

Raphael: Uriel is the angel who carries the souls of the dead to Heaven. The list of deaths is definite. You should just give up on her.

Michael: You're worried about me, aren't you, Raphael? Even if it leads to my own misfortune...I want to make her happy.

[winter telepathy time part 1]

Tsumugi: (Isn’t it strange, Tasuku? All my other thoughts until now have just vanished.)

Tasuku: (Yeah. All that going around in circles before finally arriving here must’ve meant something after all.)

Tsumugi: (In this moment that we can only have onstage...I don’t want to let a single second slip by.)

Tasuku: (It’s cause you say things like this, that you’re the one I want to act with.)

Metatron: Hm. Interfering with a human soon to pass is forbidden.

Michael: Just watching over her would be enough. Please.

Metatron: You’re going to lose your abilities as an angel as every day passes. And yet...you want to go, don’t you. I understand.

Michael: Thank you, Metatron.

All Feelings that cannot be A sorrowful destiny An angel who falls for a human will only reap misfortune

Raphael: Why did you tell him about her death!

Uriel: Not knowing the truth. Being unable to do anything for someone precious to him. I didn’t want Michael to suffer that pain.

Raphael: But now that you’ve told him, of course he’ll go.

Uriel: I know that! ...since the three of us have always been together.

[winter telepathy time part 2]

Hisoka: (The three of us were always together...it’s only a line in a play, but I know this feeling. Maybe if I stay here, I’ll be able to find them. My real self, and the person important to me.)

Homare: (Their feelings are permeating this heart of mine that cannot understand others. No, even those of the audience. So this is theatre...how truly fascinating!)

Homare, Hisoka: (Now, on to act 2!)

Raphael Michael descends to earth, and makes his way to her hospital

Uriel There he meets Philip, the doctor in charge.

Metatron Angel wings are invisible to the human eye

Raphael, Uriel, Metatron Michael earnestly asks about her

Philip: You’re her friend? She’s terribly ill right now. I’d like to cheer her up a little.

Michael: Yes, and I have something to tell her too, but...I can’t meet with her directly.

Philip: It’s strange you can’t meet her even though you want to tell her something, but...why don’t you try writing her a letter instead, then?

Michael: A letter...that’s right! I’ll do that!

Metatron And so, Michael began to write letters day by day

Uriel He was delighted when she began to reply

Raphael But Michael’s wings slowly shrink

Uriel: And a few months pass since Michael first arrived on earth.

Philip Michael, I have something wonderful to tell you She’s recovered. It’s a miracle!

Michael: ...really? Is it true? That’s such a relief…

Philip It seems she was really encouraged by your letters. You brought happiness with you You might just be an angel.

Michael: N-no, I’m just a regular human.

Philip: Haha, I know. But to us, you were an angel.

Michael: ...us?

Philip: Yes...after she’s discharged from the hospital, we’re going to get married.

Michael: ...congratulations. Please give her my regards.

(the two of them stand on opposite ends of the stage)

Philip: That wasn’t a fair way to tell you, was it. ...I’m sorry. Even though I realised how you felt about her, I…

Michael: She recovered from her illness. I can’t make her happy. It’s fine like this...it’s...fine…

[winter telepathy time part 3]

Azuma: (So this is how expressive Tsumugi can be...well done! Since you can understand people’s pain, you’re so kind.)

Tsumugi: (I can’t believe this is your first play either, Azuma-san. Actors can really learn anything from life.)

Michael Even if it’s a love that can’t be

Philip A love carried by an angel

Michael, Philip If you can happily laugh, I’m glad

Uriel: He can’t even be with her, and yet he’s still happy. How very like Michael, so noble.

Raphael: Michael can come back, the girl gets to live happily, it all turned out well.

Uriel: Have you forgotten? Angels can’t interfere with humans’ deaths.

Raphael: ...what do you mean.

Uriel: Her name hasn’t been taken from the list. No matter what Michael does, her death won’t change.

Raphael: Huh? Then why did you tell him about her?

Uriel: I told you, didn’t I? I didn’t want Michael to suffer, unable to do anything.

Raphael: She’ll still die, then.

Uriel: But Michael changed her life. He brought her happiness!

Raphael: But isn’t this just too painful?!

Uriel: ...that’s why this time, I won’t tell Michael anything.

Raphael: Why are you telling me this?

Uriel: I think it would be best if you decided whether or not to tell him for his own good.

Metatron: You’re always left with these painful roles, aren’t you.

Uriel: No, it’s...because we’re friends.

Metatron, Uriel Even if it’s a love that cannot be With a voice that cannot reach I’m watching over that path that you believed in

(the inst goes quiet as michael and raphael sit together on the stairs in silence.)

Raphael: Are you going?

Michael: ...yes.

Raphael: She has a fiance.

Michael: She does.

Raphael: This time, you’ll completely lose all your power if you go. You won’t be able to come back.

Michael: ...right.

Raphael: ...you fool.

Michael: Thank you, Raphael.

Metatron: I thought you were always together. Is this alright?

Raphael: It’s my duty to push him along.

Uriel: Since it’s you, I thought you would choose this.

(philip is walking and holding hands with...you, the audience, when michael throws himself in front of a car that’s about to hit them. yeah.)

Philip: Michael! (he pulls michael into his arms)

Michael: Are you two...alright…?

Philip: We’re both fine, but...why would you…!

Michael: That’s a relief...please...be happy…

Metatron: Saving a human...Michael, you’ve achieved the angel’s true desire.

Raphael: Michael!

Philip: Who are you?

Raphael: I’m his friend! Michael? Hey!

Michael: Raphael…?

Philip: Michael saved us from a car…

Raphael: Please take her to a hospital. She might be injured somewhere.

Philip: But—

Raphael: I’m here for him. (more fun comments! in the soundtrack recording he is like, yelling. in anguish. but in the live ver of the finale, he just sounds so calm. and idk what’s worse.)

Philip: Angel wings…?

Uriel: This time, her name has disappeared from the list.

Philip: You’re...you’re really an angel, aren’t you?

[winter telepathy time part 4]

Azuma: (Being connected with everyone through theatre...this is what it’s like, isn’t it. I’m not alone...I’m not lonely!)

Hisoka: (...is it alright for me to be here...this is where I belong…)

Homare: (This singular place where I can stand next to my friends with whom I feel a connection…)

(philip leaves, and michael is now cradled in raphael’s arms.)

Michael: She’s...okay now, right?

Raphael: Yes, don’t worry.

Michael: Being able to protect the person I love, having my soul carried by you, my closest friend...I’m...happy…

Raphael: Michael...you fool…

[this is listed as being a telepathy segment even tho the sound cue isn’t there but lbr if they straight up said this onstage very quietly i don’t think it would be that out of place]

Tasuku: (Tsumu...I’m glad I got to act with you again.)

Tsumugi: (Me too...Taachan.)

Winter Once more, with feeling From here, with these comrades

and then it goes into don’t cry, you know the drill, from the wiki as always

Michael, Raphael Don’t cry… I'd like to watch over you. That's all I wanted.

Raphael If I could be by your side,

Michael Even if we couldn't meet,

Michael, Raphael That was happiness to me.

Michael, Raphael Don’t cry… I won't regret that I loved.

Raphael Don't go.

Michael Smile for my last moments...?

Michael, Raphael The tears we shed held all our wishes...

#mankai stage #autumn & winter 2019 #winter troupe #tsukioka tsumugi #takato tasuku #mikage hisoka #arisugawa homare #yukishiro azuma #aramaki yoshihiko #kitazono ryo #ueda keisuke #tanaka ryousei #ueda kandai #november translations #a3

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crazycat-88 · 5 years

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Male Werewolf Jack x Male Reader (NSFW)

I’m not specifically doing Inktober but I was inspired by todays prompt: SWING. So here’s a short story featuring a male reader and his werewolf boyfriend Jack. Hope you enjoy it!

Content: Sex swing, spanking, knotting, anal, Vers!Reader/Vers!Werewolf

Wordcount: 1,430

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Some days you really hated your job and today was one of those days. Your colleagues were driving you mad and your customers were making you want to pull your hair out. Thankfully it was nearing the end of your shift and you would get to go home soon. Home, where your boyfriend of almost a year would be waiting, hopefully with a stiff drink ready for you.

Leaving work, you text him to let him know you are on your way home and about how your day sucked. You get a reply immediately, saying he’s sorry to hear that and that he’ll take care of you once you’re home. You smile, Jack is incredibly sweet and loved doting on you. You don’t know how you got so lucky to find someone like him.

Entering your house, you look around for Jack but don’t see him anywhere. ‘‘Jack?... Jack I’m home…’’ you call out but hear no reply. Frowning you head to the kitchen, he’s not there but you smile seeing that he has poured you that drink. Taking it with you, you search the house trying to find where he’s hiding. Finding the downstairs empty, you head upstairs, where you see the spare bedroom door open just ever so slightly.

The spare bedroom, is actually your playroom, and is usually kept locked to keep the prying eyes of visitors from seeing it. The set up of the room is fairly simple, it has a bed, a chair, a swing and two wardrobes that are filled with a variety of sex toys. Obviously today Jack had decided that the best way to make your day better would be to work out the stress and tension with some physical activity.

Smiling to yourself, you toe open the door, pulse jumping in anticipation at what you might find. Immediately you see Jack, completely naked, bound and hanging on the swing, facing the floor in a very provocative position. His back legs are spread wide and you see that he’s clearly already prepped himself as his pucker is shiny with lube and he has a butt plug in position.

Smirking, feeling your cock twitch, you walk in a circle around him, and putting the drink down, you slowly start to remove your clothes. Jacks dark curly hair is hanging over his face hiding it from your view, kneeling down you brush it back, tilting his head up so you can meet his eyes.

‘‘Good evening love,’’ he says, smiling widely.

‘‘You’ve been a naughty wolf,’’ you reply, tapping him on the nose.

Hearing him whimper, you give him a quick kiss on the mouth, and stand up again removing the rest of your clothes. You know what mood he’s in tonight and his needs fortunately meet your own. Finding the lube and another butt plug you get in a position where he can clearly see you. Prepping yourself, you moan and make more noise than necessary, knowing he will enjoy it. Placing the plug inside, you look over to him to see he’s already panting, his eyes glued to your cock which is now half hard.

Standing, you circle him again, brushing your fingertips lightly over his back and legs. Hearing him whimper, you lightly smack your hand over his butt cheeks.

‘‘Remember the safe word?’’ You ask him, smacking his butt again.

‘‘Apples’’ he says, whimpering again.

‘‘Good… Now be a good boy and I’ll give you what you need,’’ you say. Hearing his whine, you smile and go search the wardrobe for an appropriate toy for the occasion. Settling on a satin covered leather paddle, you make your way back to him and give him a smack on his thigh, chucking as you hear him yelp.

‘‘You know the rules, no shifting or coming before I’ve come, and I want you to count,’’ you say.

‘‘Yes love…’’ he says, already panting. Smacking him lightly at first, you hear him pant, ‘‘That’s one love, that’s two... three… four…’’ smacking him harder now, he continues, ‘Five… Six… Ahh Seven…’’

You vary from light taps to harder smacks, until his backside is bright pink and he’s a whimpering mess. Feeling him shaking, you throw the paddle aside and swing him round to see his face. His eyes are glistening but the look on his face is pure contentment and as stroke his hair behind his ears, he smiles happily.

‘‘Did that feel good?’’ You ask him stroking his cheek.

‘‘Yes love,’’ he whispers. ‘‘Thank you.’’

‘‘You’ve been such a good boy… Are you ready for more?’’ you ask. Seeing his nod, you lightly kiss his lips before standing again and swinging him back round. He whines and jerks as you remove the butt plug. Grabbing the lube you spread it over your cock and stroke it a few times taking your time, knowing Jack enjoys being made to wait.

Slowly entering him, you clench your teeth, finding him tight. No matter how many times you take him like this or how stretched he’s been with toys, he’s always so tight. As your balls meet his thighs, you stop to take a breath, no way will you blow so soon. Taking it slowly, you start to move in and out of him, listening to his whines and pleas for you to go harder and faster, you ignore him until your more in control of yourself.

Soon the room is filled with the sound of skin slapping, and moans and whimpers. As you move in and out of him faster, you suddenly hear him growl. Opening your eyes, you see that he’s starting to shift, growing claws and pointy ears, losing control. Forcing yourself to stop, you pull out of him completely and hear him whine.

‘‘Bad wolf. You know the rules, you're not allowed to shift…’’ you say firmly, smacking his butt.

‘‘I’m sorry… please, I won’t shift, I promise… please! ’’ he whines, getting himself under control and reverting back to human form with a shudder. You know that it isn’t easy for him to stop mid-shift and you’re extremely impressed with his control. ‘‘Please , please love, come inside me,’’ he whimpers.

Since he technically hadn’t broken the rules you were willing to let this little slip slide. ‘‘Be a good boy now or you won’t be allowed to fuck me,’’ you tell him with a grunt, working your cock back inside him. Hearing him moan in agreement, you thrust into him, holding his hips firmly keeping him still.

Far too soon you're spilling your seed inside of him with a grunt. You can feel him trembling but he’s done well by not coming or shifting, working on his control is something that has taken a lot of time and still he only manages it fifty percent of the time. Now it’s time for his reward.

‘‘Good wolf,’’ you say, as you collapse to the floor on your back panting harshly, eyes closing tiredly. Hearing a growl, you force open your eyes to see he’s shifted and has torn off the restraints of the swing. Oh well you think, he made the swing, he can easily fix it.

As a human, Jack isn’t particularly tall, standing at only five foot seven. When he shifts however he’s well over six foot and hung like a horse or in his case, a werewolf. Eyeing him as he rises to full height, you see his cock is weeping and his knot is incredibly swollen. Honestly if you hadn't already taken him plenty of times before, you would not think it possible for something of that size to fit inside you.

With a growl he kneels in front of you and slowly removes the butt plug, replacing it with his cock. Taking your thighs in his claws, he pushes your legs up into your chest and ruts wildly inside of you with snarls and moans, trying to work is knot inside of you. Running your hands through is fur on his chest, you moan in encouragement, and eventually his knot pops into place and he howls, finally allowing himself release. Falling on you, he pants harshly, still twitching inside of you.

‘‘I didn’t hurt you, did I?’’ he gasps, trying to get his breath back.

‘‘No... but I am struggling to breath…’’ you chuckle breathlessly.

‘‘Sorry love,’’ he yelps, turning so you’re laying on him instead.

‘‘That definitely improved my day,’’ you say smiling, nuzzling into his chest.

‘‘Want to talk about it?’’ he asks, stroking your back.

‘‘Later…’’ you yawn, eyes closing. Soon drifting off to sleep.

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Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to reblog it. Likes and comments are also appreciated.

My Masterlist

#exophilia #male monster #male reader #werewolf #male/male #my writing #My OC’s #werewolf/reader #reader inserts #monster/reader #monster/human

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lachlann-macnab · 3 years

Text

Task #16 Jukebox Musical/TV or Movie Soundtrack: come up with a playlist of at least 10 songs, write a scene summary to go with each one. Disclaimer under the cut.

Disclaimer: I, once again, decided to abuse the system. Nowhere on the prompt does it say that the scenes have to be related to a character I have, that's why I present to you: "The prompt, but short stories done with characters Jean would love to write but doesn't have the time to actually have".

Also, weeb rights.

*King (English cover) -Will Stetson John Kingsbury

Watch your back no warning warning Taking all my stress there's only just one thing to do Brace yourself for all my love's attack now Left side right side Bear your fangs it's time to fight Pa - pa - pa parade in shame tonight Left side. Right side. Bear your fangs and come alive Pa- pa - pa, Hah! You are king!

Mother always did like Richard best.

Screw that, everyone always did like Richard best, even John liked his brother more than he liked himself. Even so, when he had been declared MIA during a mission with The Order, John quickly became the first option (the only option) for everyone -he was on cloud nine.

His new comrades didn't quite like him, but John didn't quite mind since he'd make sure that by the end of that year they'd be kneeling to him. Just like he'd make sure that Richard never, ever came back, even if that meant making allies with a certain policeman and some Magicks whose information he'd make sure to erase from The Order's databases.

Pa, pa- pa Hah! He was (finally) King!

*La mer - Julio Iglesias cover Basil Rathbone

Mrs. Judson would have never expected to hear Julio Iglesias, of all things, coming from the flat. It was a strangely cheerful song for someone like Basil to hear, being the snob (not only musical, but general snob) he'd always been.

She was unsure about whether she really wanted to open the door, suddenly afraid of what she might find on the other side. Sometimes Basil would be immersed reading files upon files upon files, sometimes he would be languishing on the sofa while staring blankly at the roof, sometimes he would be walking around while talking to himself in a very obvious bout of mania -he was a wild card, that Basil, and the fact that she simply couldn't guess what he'd do next always worried her.

Worried as she was, she opened the door.

She found Basil staring at the portrait that hung just above the chimney, just...watching it.

"I have always quite admired Le Carré's works" Basil merely said, without even looking at Mrs. Judson and instead keeping his attention on his own personal Karla while the song went on and on, silently hurting in all of the right places.

*Everybody loves me - OneRepublic Kuzco Apaza

Get down, Swaying to my own sound Flashes in my face now All I know is everybody loves me Everybody loves me

Kuzco was on a roll.

He felt the stares as he made the street his personal catwalk and kept (very loudly) chatting with his lawyers on the other side of the phone. The sun was shining surprisingly strongly that day (surprisingly for that side of the world, that is), it's rays hit his jewelry and clothes and made him shine almost as strongly as the star itself.

There was no way anyone could ignore him. And he couldn't blame them -he was fabulous! A gift of the gods themselves, almost as brilliant as the sun and twice (no, thrice) as charming!

...and he was shouting his plans to build a waterpark on Atlantis Lake. And, sure, people didn't seem to love the idea quite yet, but...?

At least they were staring. And they'd eventually learn to love him.

*Dramaturgy (English cover) - Will Stetson Hans Westergård

All alone now no one’s looking, act out in greed deceiving all their eyes But there’s no real me that You’ll find if you believe and I can’t find a single role that showed what’s really there to see

He caught the eyes of his reflection by accident.

Hans had tilted his head and his eyes had almost immediately found his own reflection against the showcases, making him forget about his date (what was her name again? He couldn't, for the life of him, remember that but he certainly did remember how much her net-worth was and which medicines she needed to take at what hours of the day, just like her previous beau had needed to do before the "accident" had happened) and focus instead on his own eyes.

The thing is...he couldn't find anything in there; The baby blue went on and on but there was nothing beyond- behind it-

-when he moved his gaze, however, he found that he was smiling even if he didn't felt like it. And that his carefully selected clothes looked as they had been designed just for him to wear (and they had), and that his globed hands were still holding his date's recent purchases inside the yellow bag even if he found every item utterly tacky and a ridiculous expense.

He was smiling and looking good and doing perfectly. So why did finding his own gaze him the same effect as placing a mirror in front of another, creating a ever going loop of emptiness?

Was he not playing his part correctly? What could possibly fill that void?

*My Neighbor Totoro/Azumi Inoue Music Box ver - R3 Music Box Totoro Seishin

Totoro decided to take a nap under the sun while Chu and Chibi were busy playing with some squirrels. It was a sunny day and there was no place he'd rather be but outside, basking and feeling the grass under him.

At one point, however, he felt some extra weight on him. He didn't feel like moving or particularly offended by something deciding to lay on him, it was just amusing.

He couldn't be bothered to open both eyes, so he only opened one, finding a sleeping girl against his chest as if that was the most normal thing to do.

He smiled, closed his eye and decided that was quite fine by him.

*Delusion Girl - Oktavia Cover (TW Suicide and Mental Illness) Bernard Newhart

Every hero knows when they’re needed, so, that’s just what he’s born to be A man who manages throwing out his hand, Who doesn’t care if his own life is spared Such a feat like that, it’s a selfless act only completed in dreams And it stays like that for me With a crash I’m trapped back in reality

Bernard wanted to help, he really did. He just...didn't always know how. Nor did he know if it really matter.

His partner always seemed to be five steps ahead and the Australian she'd taken a fancy to was just like her, if not a couple of steps ahead of even her. And it made Bernard feel like a third wheel, to question if he was really doing something worthy, if he had done something, anything sufficiently good ever and-

-he caught the girl's cellphone before she ever noticed it had slid out of her hands. And soon enough he was getting hugged and receiving many 'thank you's and- and maybe that was enough?

*The Lost One's Weeping (English Cover) - Will Stetson (TW Depression) Martin Ambrosius (Merlin)

And no matter how much time passes us by, We’re drunk on sweet and hypnotic lies. With all our sources of hardened pride We try to erase and hide now

Martin would always act indignant at the question, and would always reply with a 'I am under no obligation to use my magic to explain or prove anything to the likes of you'.

He was Merlin's blood, for fuck's sake! He didn't have anyone to prove anything to save for maybe the Once and Future King himself!

Oh how he hoped, deep, deep inside, that he would never wake, that he would never ask any questions, that he would never do anything but keep dreaming his mythical dream and let him live his unmagic life.

He was a showman, he loved smoke and light and mirrors, he could fool anyone, anytime -but he knew that wouldn't be enough if (when) the time came, that the Once and Future King would need an actual advisor, an actual wizard.

He prayed that day never came to pass.

*When you're evil - Aurelio Voltaire Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

It gets so lonely being evil What I'd do to see a smile Even for a little while And no one loves you when you're evil I'm lying through my teeth! Your tears are all the company I need

"Ah, Perry the Platypus! Don't shake too much or you'll make the laser sharks angry and- no, hey! the insurance doesn't cover laser damage to the roo- yeah, that's better thank you. You might be wondering what this is all about- you see, noone has decided to play ME so far so- BEHOLD, THE HEINZ DOOFEN-INATOR! (patent pending) WITH THIS DEVICE I SHALL HIJACK ONE UNLUCKY ROLEPLAYER'S DRAFTS AND SLOWLY BUT SURELY CONSUME THE WHOLE THING THEN THE OTHER POSTS ON THE DASH, THEN THE WHOLE BEING DISNEY PAGE, THEN- HEY! HEY, DON'T DO THA- I'M NOT DONE WITH MY EVIL MONOLOGUE!"

*DEAD HAND - anakin ft. IA English (Ferry Cover) (TW Nuclear Warfare mention) Major Francis Monogram

Oh this is overwhelming, time for the iron curtain call The panic is seeping through the fractured border wall My livid heart powers this reactor core “Oh this is all wrong” but I don’t mind at all Turn up the volume, execute the protocol You know it’s M.A.D. and it’s all about to blow What an unfortunate way to end this show I shed a tear as you vanish in the snow

Francis had zero interest in dealing with anyone's shit (save for his own or his son's, that is) ever again; He'd done his time and the whole thing during the fucking Cold War had done a number on his nerves.

He still could remember how all seemed lost, an adequately mad situation (of Mutually Assured Destruction, that is) had come to pass and everyone in the HQ was losing his mind and running around like a bunch of headless chickens-

-until he very calmly pressed a couple of buttons and the thing was ok once more. Some people cried, some people laughed, some people shouted.

(Dramatic bitches, all of them. They didn't have to cause a scene just because of the fucking coffee machine)

That was one of many situations that made him love his retirement and not want to let go of it.

*Gasoline - Halsey (Captain) John Silver

You're part of a machine, you are not a human being With your face all made up, living on a screen Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

'Phantom limb pain' sounded way cooler than it actually was. Silver would rather call it 'a pain in the ass' any day, but that'd be a misnomer since what hurt was his stupid (lack of) arm and not his ass and he was not risking some smartass trying to make a joke about his butt, thank you very fucking much.

Like, fuck, 'phantom pain' could be a sick name for a metal (heh) band. And hiding things inside his prosthetic was one of the few perks the whole thing offered, just like the fact that he could smack people with the thing without having to bother about hurting himself or dealing with that pain.

However, during that cold night he couldn't think of any possitives about the damned thing and cursed his rotten luck, his (lack of) arm and the thoughts that came along with them.

#bdrpwrimo #bdrpwrimo2020 #bdrpwrimojean #/Jean doesn't know the meaning of self-control: the novel in 10 parts #/remember when I said I would publish FOUR tasks today? Yeah; I lied

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themockingcrows · 4 years

Text

Companionship Through Circuitry ch. 6: Setbacks

Bro/Hal cw: blood, violence, deathclaws, and a generally bad day in the wasteland

Journeys are never without their inherent dangers. When you're living in the wasteland, it's to be expected. Doesn't make them suck any less, though.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942408/chapters/64071430

I spy with my little eye-

“Hal, pick a new game already.”

I can assure you this is the best game to play out here.

“Fine,” Bro said, exhausted. They’d been traveling for days on the remains of the highway by now and there was no sign of a proper township. He smelled, his back and legs hurt, and despite having plenty of food water was always a precious commodity. He also had at least four letters to send by now, including a few sketches and schematics he’d designed after toying with the Furby body some more, in case Dave wanted to get his hands on a little guardian bot of his own. The kid was smart, even he’d be able to handle basic scripting to make a functional system for it. Surely someone else he was buddies with could figure out an AI of sorts for it, too.

True, it would have been easier to follow another path by now, but following the main point of the highway just seemed the best, most direct route for him. Who’s to say it was brahmin who made the trodden paths that led further into the wastes, or humans? What if it was mutants, or worse, deathclaws stalking the wastelands? Scuttling parties of mole rats or vicious dogs.

Would you like to know what I spy or not, Bro.

“I don’t want to know, but I’ve got a feelin’ you’re gonna tell me anyway aren’t you.”

Correct! I’ll give you a few hints.

Bro groaned in irritation.

“A bloatfly,” he guessed off the bat.

No, though it is annoying.

“As annoyin’ as you? Why isn’t there a fuckin’ mute option on these shades..”

Your second hint is that it’s bipedal.

That perked him up somewhat. Bro scanned the horizon further off for signs of a city or outpost, a wanderer, a courier. Anyone. Instead what he saw was the lanky, sharply pointed edges of a juvenile deathclaw. A definite pain in the ass, but nothing he couldn’t handle.

“...And how long have we been in deathclaw territory for, Hal?”

Uncertain, my saved map mentions shopping centers, not deathclaws.

“Ooh, shopping centers?” he said. “Put a peg in it, if we find somewhere to trade soon we might do a run back to grab some more supplies for trade and keepin’.”

The deathclaw is still nearby, you know.

“I can avoid it if I want,” Bro said, taking out his sword. A juvenile would take some fast work, but he knew he was good for dispatching the monstrosities, and people paid good money for their clawed hands, even the small ones. Hell, even he wanted some bits off of one sometime, though mostly for show. How sick would a deathclaw fang necklace be, after all?

You appear to be approaching the small one instead of fleeing.

“Watch and learn, Hal,” Bro said as he shifted his weight and began to run. Aching feet or not, his boots cut into the crisp cooked layer of topsoil and sank ever so slightly with each step. The deathclaw noticed him and turned, beginning to awkwardly run towards him, long limbs ungainly but just as deadly as an adult. They met in the middle, Bro’s sword singing off the armored hide of the creature’s forearms, taking a chunk with it as he went. The deathclaw lunged for his middle with a shrill noise, catching a chunk of shirt on the end of one of its spiky hands, but just missing his tender vitals. He turned, and used the momentum to slice at the space where its behorned head connected to its body, the sword sliding against softer skin. Staggered, the small deathclaw stepped forward, then tottered back unsteadily as it began to bleed out.

Bro lifted a foot and kicked the creature backwards to its spiny back, then followed with the sword to spear its chest, cranking the blade to the side once it glanced off a rib, forcing downwards till it stopped moving. Planting his boot on its chest, he yanked his sword free and swung it in the air a few times to rid it of blood, and smirked. Fuck, that felt good. Nothing like taking out a little nightmare to give a nice rush of adrenaline and dopamine. Hell, he wouldn’t even say no to a smoke or a drink right now, ride that high long as he could.

Excellent, now how do you intend to deal with the mother?

“Mother?” Bro asked, about a half second before he felt something plow into him like a freight train, sending him flying and pain searing through his right shoulder blade. He landed flat on his face and skidded before rolling over, hand on his sword raising it defensively and other hand reaching for his gun.

Shit. Shit, shit, this was definitely a mother death claw, the hide was darker than usual. He must’ve just killed one of her brood. Not a good look for someone not interested in dying in the middle of nowhere. He fired a quick two shots, missing the first and nailing her in the left eye with the second, though it only seemed to make her more enraged after a brief second of shaking her head. She raised a hand and slashed downwards where Bro was scooting backwards, forcing him to block with a weakened grip before the second slash sang home across his chest, blood spurting where her claws shredded flesh and fabric alike. One of the straps of Bro’s bags was severed, leaving him half dragging it as he continued to try crawling backwards, firing till his clip was empty.

Hal was urgently trying to tell him something, but Bro couldn’t hear anymore, couldn’t think, could only focus on the burning in his chest and the taste of copper in his mouth. Things were flashing through his mind as he stared down the deathclaw, who was raising both of her hands for a double slash that he wouldn’t be able to block in the slightest. Things he still wanted to do, to say. Memories.

Dave the day he left home to travel to the city, bag on his back and barely a look back as he wove past the traps. Dave as a lanky tween, perched by his side on the counter top as he cooked an omelette for them both, telling him a joke that he still didn’t think was funny but that he’d laughed at anyway. Dave at five, sitting on his lap as he fiddled with a new project that would eventually become a birthday present game for him, looking up at him with big red eyes almost full of tears when he refused to tell him what he was working on.

Dave, still struggling to put weight on as an infant as Bro kept him warm on the sofa through a bout of fever, trying to coax him into eating just a bit more from the bottle, wondering if he should make the trek to find a doctor or keep hunkering down and hoping it would work itself out. Being scared out of his fucking mind about this tiny, sick thing in his arms and on his chest, worried he’d break if he moved wrong.

This wasn’t fear he felt. It was acceptance. Dave being sick or hurt was fear, even when he’d been the one to hurt him in the preparations he’d run repeatedly over the years. A deathclaw? This was his just rewards for being cocky without backup. He wanted to have time to apologize to Dave, like he always really meant to.

He wanted to apologize to Hal, too, for not managing to take him to get his body. For getting his hopes up about Dirk and then dying with him in the middle of nowhere. Maybe the shades would get crushed by the deathclaw after he died, spare him much misery. They’d both just go out like a candle in the breeze and nobody would be any the wiser.

A shot rang out, and blood spurted from the side of the deathclaw’s head. She staggered, stomping her sharp feet on his abdomen and legs as she adjusted her balance and snarled in alarm at the new threat. More shots, each one more precise than the last, till finally one hit the same eye he’d shot earlier, and the beast went down on top of him. Though his ears were still ringing, Bro could feel his pulse slowing down and everything going darker as the feeling of faintness took over.

Bro. Bro!

“Sorry, Dave,” he mumbled, blood on his lips and eyes unfocusing as red eyes stared at him. No, wait, not Dave. “Hal..”

AMBROSE.

The last thing Bro was aware of was a high pitched repeated beeping pattern ringing out from the shades on his face, a signal he knew so well. Anyone out here could recognize SOS when they heard it, but Bro couldn’t care anymore who did hear it.

Darkness claimed him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“...p. See? I think he’s waking up! Jake, push more fluids!”

“I’m going as fast as I can, don’t you think he’d bl-........”

“...ver if we don’t. Sometimes you have to do dangerous things in a time of crisis, just pu-...”

“...rry chap, we’re doing our best. Why were you playing with a deathclaw mot-...”

“...’s going under again, God damn it why don’t we have more gauze!”

“...aid last time we wouldn’t need that many, let me check his ba-...”

“....tting sick, stupid coat, ugh! Hand me a clo-...”

“...ehozaphat he’s rolling in meds and chems! Lookit all this, it’s a kings ran-...”

“...ab whatever you can, inject him with at least two, and hand the alcohol to me so I ca-...”

“...nk he’ll make it? He’s in an awful way, Jade. We’re still at least a few miles out fro-...”

“...re he’ll make it, we just need to hur-...”

...ve him. Please. Pulse is falling at an alarming ra-...

“...re trying our best, believe me, it’s up to him if we ca-...”

...n’t lose him to-...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Ambrose woke, it was to clean sheets and a bright light coming from a window. He reached up to touch his face and panicked to realize the shades weren’t on him any longer, looking around as he tried to sit stark upright to look around. Tried being the correct term, considering when he got a few inches upright his abdomen and chest sang with burning pain and forced him to lay back on an aching shoulder. Sighing an exhale, Bro took the room and himself into account.

The room itself looked to be a standard medical setup for a scap town, shelves of supplies and a few more beds shoved into the same room with him, a shabby gray curtain sectioning the space off from another area. He was laying on a cot with the aforementioned clean sheets, which were a hell of a commodity, and wrapped what felt like head to toe in bandages. His chest had padding underneath that seemed fresh enough, as well as his abdomen, and another bandage seemed to be wrapping his shoulder. His forearms had bandages, a shift of his legs revealed smaller areas of wrappings and-

Bro snatched the sheets and lifted them upwards, looking down towards his groin in worry. Okay. Phew. Dick still there and in one piece, no need to panic. Thank fuck.

Were you honestly more concerned for your dick than me? Came a voice from the top of the shelves, arms folded in and tucked at an angle to not get damaged or in the way.

“To be fair, I’ve been attached to my dick longer than you,” Bro said, giving another try at this standing thing and getting as far as sitting upright before he had to stop, dizzy. He was also connected to an IV he realized, two bags half drained already and the tether attached to his arm carefully with another bandage and some tape to keep it from moving. One of the bags was unmistakably blood. “Where’s my stuff.”

I’m fine, thank you for asking. I can really tell you were concerned for my safety after being nearly disemboweled. I can also tell you’re just dying to know how you went about not dying.

“My stuff, Hal.”

In the other room, safe and fucking sound.

“Thank you. Gimme a second and I’ll come get you,” Bro said, running a hand through his hair. He realized with surprise that it was clean instead of gritty with sand and dust and blood, freshly washed like the rest of him. Someone had taken care to wash him thoroughly it seemed. Hell, even his fingernails were spotless. Shocking. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been this squeaky clean, it was almost a shame he didn’t remember it. “How long have I been out?”

Almost a week.

“Jesus,” Bro rasped as he finally stood up on shaky fawn legs, reaching for the IV stand for balance before making his way over to the shelf, naked as the day he was born save for the bandages. He groped for the shades hurriedly when he started feeling faint again, and had just grabbed them when the curtain pulled back.

A tall girl with dark skin, shocking green eyes and long wild hair tied back into evenly sectioned ponytails stood owl eyed behind large round glasses with a single crack in the left lens, a stethoscope around her neck and familiar leftover military gear covering her from head to toe. She frowned, and immediately rushed forward to grab Bro by the elbow and middle of his back, steering him back to bed.

“How long have you been awake!” she asked. “Why didn’t you wait till someone came to help you? Are you in pain? Do you need any water? Food?”

“Few minutes,” Bro said, more than a little startled. He sat and covered himself soon as he could, but the young woman didn’t back off in the slightest, swooping close to shine a pocket light in his eyes, checking his pupils.

“Has there been any bleeding? Any night terrors? Do you have any numbness or weaknesses?”

“I feel like shit, but otherwise,” Bro said, grimacing and jerking his head back from her grasp as she turned the light off.

“I’ll get Jake to bring some lunch in for you, I’m glad you’re not running on glucose anymore. Actually, I’m glad you’re running at all,” she said with a grin. Her canines were strangely sharp looking. “My name is Jade Harley, and I’m half of the reason you’re alive right now.”

“Is the chap who tried to cuddle the wrong end of a mother deathclaw awake yet?” asked another voice from beyond the open curtain.

“He is! Get some of those mirelurk cakes and mac and cheese, please?”

“I’ll bring some of that slackjaw jerky too, I imagine he’s half starved for real food,” said the male out of sight, before Bro heard distant sounds of dishes and metal scraping metal.

“...So what, you a doctor?” he guessed.

“We both are, in our own right. My cousin, Jake English, is the one who spotted you first out there. The primary reason you’re alive, however, is because we’re both sharpshooters! There wouldn’t have been much left to save if we hadn’t pegged that bitch into the dirt,” she said enthusiastically.

Bro’s lip twitched in amusement. This person couldn’t have been older than her early twenties, but she was a doctor? And a sharpshooter?

“So who really saved me?”

Jade’s smile sharpened somewhat, looking predatory. “I don’t think I’d tease like that when you’re still so weak. All it’d take is a cushion to take you out right now, I bet.”

“Sorry, just. You’re so young…” he trailed off as another figure entered the room with a dinner tray. This person didn’t look much older than Jade if he was a day, face clean shaven and hair styled but messy, standing at about the same height. He looked much more solid, though, shoulders broad and chest straining a little at the fatigues shirt he wore, and his demeanor seemed much sweeter than his cousin at first glance. More innocent somehow, or somehow less aware of the intensity of their surroundings.

“Here you are, I’ll get some juice for you as well in a few ticks. First time I’m seeing this much of your outside as opposed to your inside since we got you scrubbed down!” he laughed, setting the tray on Bro’s lap. The food smelled fresh and was warm on his thighs beneath the sheet, mirelurk cakes looking greasy and delicious, mac and cheese that smelled plenty creamy from the box, and some kind of soft looking jerky rubbed with spices that made his mouth water as much as the fresh stuff before him

“Try to eat slow,” Jade warned him as Jake trotted back out of view for a moment and came back with juice as promised. “Hope apple’s okay! It’s what we’ve got.”

“Apple’s fine,�� Bro promised, tucking into the mac and cheese first, eyes closing in bliss. Salty, creamy, rich. He could feel it flooding his system already, a body starved for nutrients beyond the bare minimum of functioning and safety. Once he shoveled a second bite into his mouth, he slid the shades onto his face and grinned a bit when haughty red eyes looked at him. Hal was clearly annoyed, angry even, but those eyes were full of concern too.

“We’ve got tea too, though not everyone enjoys what we brew,” Jake chuckled.

“Their loss, it’s delicious,” said Jade with a shake of her head.

Scans show temperature readings as normal. Pulse normal. Pupils overly reactive to light, but not abnormal.

“I hope he didn’t talk your leg off,” Bro said. “He’s kind of annoyin’.”

You have terminal stupidity, I propose an immediate lobotomy to put you out of my misery.

“Will you knock it off for ten seconds and let me eat before rippin’ me a new one?”

It’s true. The doctor said so. You’re just stupid.

“You were snuck up on by a creature twice your size in the wasteland,” Jade pointed out with a smirk. “Though I’m glad Hal’s giving you a positive reading. He was quite useful while we were saving you.”

“How much did he talk,” Bro wondered aloud.

“A bit,” she admitted. “We discussed why you were traveling, though he wasn’t that talkative about details. He let us know about Dave when you kept saying his name, in case you didn’t make it. He wanted us to be sure to let him know, and to send your other letters.”

“You’re a long way from home,” Jake chimed in, taking a seat on the nearest bed to talk while Bro shook his head and went back to eating. “But it’s all fine now. Er.. mostly.”

“How much do I owe you,” Bro said almost immediately, breaking a mirelurk cake in half with his fork before stuffing it into his mouth. He’d worry about manners when he wasn’t sitting in a room with two strangers who’d apparently saved his life and seen him in more detail naked than anyone else had in years.

“We’ll figure out caps in a little bit,” Jade said. “You’re going to need to stay here a while longer either way, and we had to use a lot of your medical supplies.”

“Helped ourselves to a little bit of your food as well, but mostly it was the chems and supplies we needed at the moment. Lucky for us you were damn near carrying a medics inventory on your back!”

“Yeah, I just got through a vault,” Bro said. “Place hadn’t been looted yet till I got there.”

“A vault!” Jake interjected excitedly. “Was it like they say, all sterile and eerily perfect?”

“It was full of the people who used to live there, and they weren’t human anymore,” Bro said simply.

It was quite a show to see that many feral ghouls get put down in one go.

“Oh, that doesn’t sound very dapper.”

“Vaults rarely are. They’re either fulla deadly shit, full of a shit load’a nothin’, or fulla people who don’t want you to bother them because you’re all gross from bein’ outside and they know you just want the goodies they’ve got.”

“My grandpa was from a vault,” Jade said with a grin. “He’s the one who raised both of us, taught us everything we know.”

They traded conversation for a time while Bro continued to eat, though it waned when he finished and looked exhausted, surprised that the very act of eating took so much energy out of him. Jake took the tray away and Jade performed a followup examination as Bro settled back tiredly on the pillows. Before she left, he requested his belongings, or what was left of them.

He had an important letter to write.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bro’s head ached sickly by the time he finished writing the letter, nearly as much as his heart, and his eyes were wet. He didn’t dare to rub at them, nor to even draaw attention to them, but the fact he’d cried while pouring his fucking soul out onto the page wasn’t something he’d admit to anyone. Hal, bless him, remained quiet aside from occasionally offering a correction on a phrase to make it sound better. At first Bro had resented the dictation, but found the changes in wording to be a positive thing, eliminating double meanings. What he ended up with was the letter he’d envisioned sending Dave when the deathclaw was about to do the killing strike, and the fewer mistakes and misunderstandings that could arise from it was for the better.

It took another few days of resting, eating, and conversing with the doctors before Bro was strong enough to go for walks around the town. First thing was first: he paid express for his letter bundle to be sent to Dave along with some money, the most recently written one marked URGENT in bright red stamped letters. Secondly, he got himself a cola and drank the entire thing in one go. The doctors had been kind enough to spot him some clothes, since his shirt was ruined and his pants were scrapped in the moment by bloodshed and emergency bandage use on top of their general wear and tear. The down side was he hated fatigues… but hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

He was settled with another soda at the little bar and grill early one morning, having shared breakfast with Jade and Jake once more (his own recipe this time, which only Jake seemed enthusiastic about once they’d tasted the product), but wanting to just sit outside and enjoy the early morning before the sun really got going on cooking everything in the wasteland to death. Hal was quiet, watching as well he presumed based on the little target viewers moving around every time someone moved.

What do you plan to do if you don’t get a reply?

“Keep goin’,” he said with a shrug, taking a sip. “I’m not expecting a reply to any of my letters, but he knows which way we’re headed if he wants to write back. Kid knows how to use a map of settlements to send ahead of the curb if he wants to.”

...I was worried I lost you too, back there. But you’ve never once apologized to me yet.

“Apologized for what?”

For nearly making me watch someone I care about die. At least the first one had the decency to not die while wearinng me on his fucking face.

Bro was pensive and stretched his long legs out from his seat before tipping it back on its hind legs, balancing in place as he took another sip.

“I promise I won’t die while wearin’ you, then.”

You f-

“I wouldn’t wanna hurt you at all.”

… That is acceptable I guess.

#bro strider #lil hal #stridercest #brohal #my fic

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analogical-trash · 4 years

Note

Can I request loceit where Deceit wants to hold Logan's hands but is too shy to admit it so he just comes up with increasingly ridiculous excuses/schemes to hold hands with Logan

this took forever. but I’m happy with it. I’ll put this up on AO3 and wattpad tomorrow. I’m going to bed soon.

words: 2688

warring: Remus being Remus. swearing, mention of sex from Remus and missed spelled words.

Patton was in the kitchen trying to make some brownie he opened up the oven having oven mites on he pulled them out. And took off the mites and when to find a toothpick. Once making sure that they were done he set them aside to cool and when to go see how Virgil was doing.

Deceit walked into the kitchen and saw the brownies they smelled so good. Dee walked up to them, no one will miss a small piece. He got a knife and when to cut the brownies but put his hand on the side of the baking dish.

“SHIT” he yelled pulling his hand away. He was listening but there were footsteps coming quickly

“Deceit what happened?” logan said as soon as he turned the corner. Dee whipped around still holding his hand

“I didn’t Fucking burn my hand on this stupid chocolate goodness” Deceit yelled still holding his hand god he sounded like Roman.

“Let me see” Deceit froze logan wanted to see if he was okay. His brain couldn’t process it. Logan sigh and took his hand carefully. Deceit wished “sorry”

Logan took off Dee’s glove reveling Deceit snake scaled hand. Dee winched again but for a different reason. Logan looked it over some of his skin was peeling off.

“It not that bad, luckily, but make sure to keep it clean and babying it won’t be a bad idea,” Logan said letting go of Deceit hand. Dee slowly brought it up to his chest, carefully holding it. He looked over it.

“Mmm, Deceit here your glove back”

“Oh yeah, not thank you logan.”

“Of course” with that logan left and Dee was once again alone. He stood there still not sure what happened. Of course, he didn’t have that long Patton came into the room.

“Oh no those are for Virgil’s he has a hard day you aren’t taking a single brownie Deceit” Patton grabbed the newspaper that was on the table and rolled it up and hit Dee in the head with it.

“What the Fuck”

“shoe shoe” Patton kept hitting him. It didn’t hurt but it was more of the fact that it was happening that made Deceit run out of the room.

“Don’t Fuck off” he yelled as he ran to his room. After getting there he lay down on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. He still couldn’t believe logan held his hand and was actually concerned about him, him of all people. He soon fell asleep, he dreamed about Logan. In the dream, Logan was holding his hand and kissing it. He was saying how handsome Dee was and how elegant his scales where. Deceit was a blushing mess and couldn’t find any words as logan kept kissing his hand. Then logan took Dee’s face in his heads and lean down and right when their lips where about to touch Deceit woke up.

“What the FUCK” he yelled

“WHO THE FUCK” he heard Rumes yell back

“OH DON’T SHUT THE FUCK UP” he yelled hitting the wall to provide his point. He heard Remus laughing. God, he wishes his walls where thicker. He heard some not so good thing from Remus, he wished Virgil still live with them he could do the emo music at 3am. Anything over having to hear Remus’s nonsense. Now back to his dream what the actual fuck. Deceit wouldn’t say he was suspicious he didn’t believe in the whole dreams could tell you the force and that a bee symbolizes wealth, good luck and all that. But he did believe that dreams where what your subconsciously wanted or didn’t want. Did he wanted logan to kiss him, no why would he want the nerd. With his nerdy glasses that just frame his face nicely and that stupid tie he wanted to pull on, and his perfect hair he just wanted to mess up.

“FUCK”

“A DUCK IN THE BUTT”

“HEY, I TOLD YOU NOT TO THE SHUT THE FUCK UP. DO MAKE ME COME OVER THERE” again laughter followed. Dee lay back down, okay so he wanted logan. What the hell is he going to do now. Then an idea came to him Dee grab his notebook and started to write out his plan.

The next morning Dee woke up early he knew lo was one of the first ones up so this would be good no one else up to mess things up. He got ready making sure his hair looked good with his hat and made sure he cap was centered. He looked himself over he looked good if he said so himself. Hopefully, logan would think so too. He took off his glove from the burned hand putting the glove in his mouth he bit down hard as he began to peel some of the skin it hurt like a bitch. But after he did as much as he could stomach he walked out.

Logan was cooking eggs, with a podcast on in the background. Deceit thinks it was welcome to night viles or something like that. After watching logan for a minute he walked over to him. Logan seems to know he was there cause he turns off the podcast. He didn’t say anything as if waiting for Dee.

“Hey logan I try not putting on my glove this morning and my hand doesn’t hurt even more” Logan turned off the stove and put the eggs on a plate. Most people thought Patton was the one to cook but logan did all the cooking. Patton did the baking in their family. In the dark sides, little family Deceit did all the cooking Virgil use to sometimes hang out with him as he did it. Since Dee uses to get up late with Virgil oh how he missed his son. But Virgil had moved on,

Logan took his hand, causing deceit’s thoughts to go back to his plan and what he was doing here in the kitchen. Logan’s hands where warm but not sweaty like Remus always were. Don’t ask how he knew that. Logan was so careful with his hand and turn it over. looking over every inch of his hand as if trying to memorize it.

“Well, it seems as if your glove has pulled some skin off, ‘I don’t think it did to much damage but you shouldn’t wear your gloves till your hand is all better” logan let go to Dee’s hand and turned back to the stove. Deceit felt like he was on cloud nine, logan held his hand sure it was only for two minutes but it was amazing. He was glad logan’s back was turned cause he couldn’t help but smile. He turned away and walked over to his room with a skip in his step.

“What got you all happy?” Virgil asked eyeing him. The smile dropped off his face

“I’m sure I do know what you mean,” deceit said crap Virgil knew him better than anyone if anyone could figure it out it would be him “what you not doing up”

“I’m always up I’m going to help lo cook which I’m late for so as long as you aren’t causing any real damage I’ll be off” and with that Virgil walked away. That hurt. Virgil had never gotten up early for him. Virgil had always slept in till at leave 10. When living with the dark sides. Maybe he and logan was a thing, that made Deceit want to throw up. He ran to his bathroom and actually ended up being sick. Afterward, he just sat there holding his head in his hands, he heard the door open. “What do you want Remus?”

“Yummy”

“Oh shut it”

“Why it really must be bad if you not talking in lies. What wrong?”

“Nothing I want to talk about to you”

“Hey!.... That far. But know I may be a pain but I’m here for you. Okay”

“.... thanks”

“Come on” Remus flash the toilet and pulled deceit up he give Dee’s hand a weird look but didn’t ask. They walked over to Deceit bed Remus tucked him in and turn on the heating blanket. “Rest up”

Remus licked Dee’s human side of his face. “EWWWW. Really”

“Sorry, but I had to” Remus laugh and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Deceit didn’t sleep that well he kept waking up from nightmares of Virgil and logan being together and both talking about how much they hated him.

Deceit got up he took a shower being careful with his hand that hurt like hell. Once he got out he had an idea on how to get more handholding but it would only work if logan actual care about him and wasn’t with Virgil. Or maybe logan would do it cause he was a light side and would be nice even if he hated Dee. either way it might get him some handholding and that made it worth it.

Dee know his body ran cold no matter what, that why he wears so many lars. Including his gloves, he when over to the light living room. Where the sides were watching a movie. Another Disney movie logan was the first to notices him.

“Hello Deceit. What going on?”

“Virgil quickly turn off the TV. What are you doing here Deceit?”

“Um” Deceit was really starting to rethink this “I Don’t need to speak to logan. And Not Alone”

“Ver-”

“No if you want to talk to lo you have to do that with us as well” Vrigl said glaring diggers at him.

“okay”

“To bad bye”

“Don’t wait” Deceit through about it everyone was watching him. He sigh “not fine”

Logan was sitting on the couch with Virgil he walked over to him. Wordlessly Logan told Virgil to move over and after a minute he did. Logan did as well Deceit sat down and revieded his hand which he had been hiding under his cap. He heard Patton gasp. The dark sides were the only ones to see what his hand looks like Virgil eyed him. He probably knew how hard it was letting the others see his hand. Deceit put his head down, not really wanted the other to see him. Logan took his hand in his,

“Your hand is very cold,” Logan said Deceit nodded, still not looking up. “Are you cold-blooded?”

Again Dee nodded.

“Well since you can put your glove back on I’ll just have to hold on to it to keep it warm.” logan said as if he was the overstes answer. Deceit’s human face was bright red. Luc for him his head was down.

“What!?! NO” Virgil yelled

“Wait, what????” roman asked confused

“Well, Deceit hurt his hand and can’t wear his gloves so someone has to keep his hand warm to keep him from pain and none of you would do it. And I don’t think Remus is a good candidate so that just leaves me and I’m willing to do so.

“NOOO I know Remus’s hands are gross as hell but he not holding your hand lo. He can just deal with it”

“Virgil I know you don’t like him but Deceit is part of Thomas hurting him is hurting Thomas” and there it is the reason logan was nice to him. That hurt but Dee’s don’t react he couldn’t not in front of the others.

“Fine but I don’t like it”

“Dually noted” logan careful held Deceit hand Roam turned on the movie again everyone when back to watching but ever lother minute he could feel Virgil’s eyes on him. He keeps looking straight ahead but he was fighting the smile that wanted to be on his face.

“Okay dinner time,” Patton said once the movie was over “what are we having lo?”

“I was going to make chow main” he turned to Deceit “would you help me Virgil said that you where the cook when he lives over there.”

“NO THAT NOT HAPPENING”

“Why not virg?”

“One he could try and poison us he could take once of the kinfts and cut you up he could-” he was waking himself up to an attack Dee wanted to help but he didn’t know how

“Virgil Virgil, find me something red”

“Roman sash”

“Good, Two things blue?”

“You and patton”

“Okay three things you smell”

“Roman which is horrible I mean really ro”

“Hey!!!”

“What else” logan smiled

“You and patton”

“And what do I small like?”

“Your books”

“And patton”

“Cookies”

“Okay good how you doing virg”

“Okay still don’t like the idea of Deceit helping you”

“How about you watch us?”

“Okay that can work”

“Good i’m glad” with that they all go up Roman and Patton sat down at the table and started talking. Virgil sat on the kitchen counter watching like a hawk as logan and Dee’s started dinner. Logan never letting go of Dee’s hand and even ran his thumb over it. Causing Deceit to fall even more in love with him. But of course, he couldn’t show any of that with Virgil watching every move he made. Soon they were done with dinner.

“Well I guess I’ll be leaving then,” deceit said head down

“Thank god”

“Virgil, and why would you be leaving Deceit?”

“Well I have to go make food for Remus”

“We have enough food he can join us”

“What no”

“Lo you know what happened last time he was here”

“He not welcome here”

“Guys guys it be okay. remember he can’t hurt us”

“He knocked me out!!”

“Deceit do you think he will be good if you asked him to be”

“Yes. he will be amazing”

“See we can’t have him here”

“Don’t wait. He may be perfect but he will not be civil”

“We can do that”

“No we won’t”

“Guys we should stop this dark side light side crap. Remus is your brother Roman. And we use to keep Virgil away cause he was a dark side. Let be nice for once.”

“.........fine”

“I guess”

“Okayyyyy”

“Excellent Let go get Remus Deceit” logan and Deceit walked into the dark sides living room where remus was sitting on his head.

“Oooooo DEE what this brings a light side over here to play”

“Remus Do”

“What?”

“We not going to eat dinner at the light side”

“Ooooooooo why?”

“And you haven’t to be good”

“Aww that no fun”

“Remus”

“Fine I’ll be good” Remus got up and walked over to them. “Hello sexy nerd”

“REMUS”

“Okay okay fine guese take all the fun out of everything” they walked over to the light sides the whole way logan didn’t say a word.

Once everyone sat down they begin eating it was deadly quiet. No one seems happy except for Remus. Logan acted like this was just any other day, still holding deceit hand.

“So Dee when did you and the nerd start banking?”

Deceit chocked on his food Virgil smake Remus logan was a little red but other then that looked the same.

“What we were all thinking it”

“We not together,” Logan said a matter of fact.

“I didn’t ask if you where together I asked if-”

“REMUS NOOOO”

“Are you lying?”

“Wait I thought he always lies?”

“Noooo,” Deceit said really upset that now he had to tell the truth.

“No deceit tells the truth when really upset,” Virgil said

“Oh, in that case, I want to know do you like logan?” Roman asked

“Why you ask that”

“That not an answer” Patton pointed out

“Dee answer,” Virgil said it been years since Virgil called him Dee.

“Yes,” Deceit said hanging his head. He let go of logan’s hand and started to get up. Logan grab his arm

“Wait, Deceit I like you too please stay” Deceit froze

“.... re...really?”

“Yes now come here and kiss me already” Deceit sat back down and did just that.

“Awww”

“Ewwww it like my dads are kissing”

“Fuck him good tonight Dee. ouch!!” someone had smake, Remus.

But logan and Deceit didn’t hear a word they were loss to the world

24 notes · View notes

joygaroz · 5 years

Text

There You Are

[4/7] [Day Eleven: Chills] [6/7]

SPANISH VER: FFNET

“So… Sakura-chan, was it?” Naruto asked as he extended the wine glass to her, the girl nodded as she took the drink, as a reply, the blonde fox smiled at her. With his other hand, however, he tossed the glass to the other immortal and blurted a short: “Here, bastard”.

Peeking a glance to see the reaction of her partner-to-be, she smiled lightly before the childish grunt he emitted at the manners of the effusive immortal.

She started to understand what her mentor meant. This seemed more like a fraternal friendship bond rather than one of rivalry between enemy species because of the way their replies came and went with dexterity but neither of them seemed to be truly offended by them.

She wondered if she would have the chance to know more about that bond after this.

There was not much complexity in the ceremony really, or maybe Sakura was overlooking it because of her alarming nerves since this was her first wedding —hers, as if that was not enough, but it was as simple as they had mentioned in the beginning: Once the glasses were served, they should drink the liquor and in some minutes, the essence of the wine would make their souls intertwin while it invaded their organisms.

To make sure the link happened without any mishaps it was that Naruto’s presence was required, since as he knew the nature of both kind of souls, he was able to protect them as the link happened.

In matter of seconds, Sakura gave a lengthy sip to her glass. Pretty eager to get the ritual done, she put on practice the unusual abilities that her mentor had taught her on occasions where work gave way to a thirsty and intoxicant night of relaxation.

A few steps of her, Tsunade smiled proudly despite the surprised gesture of the blonde and the entertained one of her immortal partner.

Her heartbeats had not stopped beating with speed and of that Sasuke was pretty conscious, he simply didn’t know what he should say to make her relax —or if he should even try. She had courage, of that he had no doubt, but she was a human after all. Even if half immortal, this was a side of her she didn’t know about until a couple of hours ago. Of course this was going to test her bravery and determination.

While their thoughts were clouded with the possibilities, their souls started to dance at their surrounding and this they could sense because suddenly they felt lighter, as if they were floating in the air and because of how suddenly a feeling of slumber entered them.

Closing their eyes as the seconds passed, the couple was assaulted by a feeling of cold running through their bodies. Chills hitting them as they felt the soul of the other combine with the one of their partner, they felt the contrast and difference that was between them when warmness and coldness united in both their bodies.

Gasping as they opened their eyes with surprise, they returned to that room before the satisfied expressions of Tsunade and Naruto.

“Did it work?” Sakura wondered still short of breath, feeling her eyes slightly dampened, but without really knowing the motive.

Meeting with the stare of her mentor, she realized she was smiling at her tenderly and approached her to hug her, taking the girl by surprise before the unexpected affectionate display.

“It did” she said to her ear as she tightened lightly the embrace on her body “You’ll be fine now”.

“Tsunade-sama?” the girl of pink hair asked again, still lost after that maternal display that made her heart beat with peculiarity.

Parting a little from the girl, she held with her hands her apprentice’s arms and gave her another smile, this time with pride and confidence.

“I knew you were meant for great things” was all she said and that left the apprentice with her eyes dampening at her words.

A few steps from them, the immortals shared words in which the blonde gave a few smacks at the vampire’s back and he seemed lost in his thoughts so once the blonde followed his line of view, he found he was staring at the girl linked to him.

“She’s a pretty girl, isn’t she?” he smiled without trying to mock him, acknowledging the attributes of the new partner of his eternal rival, who soon reacted at his words and gave him a warning look before getting away from him. As a response, the blonde took his hands to the back of his nape and sighed amused. He could fool many with his cold demeanor, but never the fox who knew him since he was a human.

On his part, Sasuke found rather annoying the blonde fox’s comment. He might be the guardian of mortal lives, but he was not linked to that woman. Sasuke could feel it inside him, she was not just pretty. She was warm and soothing, fresh and free. Made of everything he had never felt before and, that in that moment an unknown feeling had caused him chills.

She must have noticed his presence approaching her, or maybe she felt the same thing he felt when the distance between them shortened. Was this speeding in their chests product of their link? He doubted it since he had noticed it on her previous to the link, but now that his own chest was the one that speeded up without apparent reason, he faltered on his step.

Noticing he was approaching her; Sakura stepped aside from the high priestess and shortened the distance between them. After feeling the cold and empty, firm and clenched, she felt herself sympathize more with that immortal that just hours ago was an unknown threat to her. She felt she knew him a little better now, that she understood him better and the insecurity she felt just minutes ago by his presence dissipated after feeling his heart beat like hers rather than stay impassive and hidden.

Now that he was just a few steps of distance, a new feeling that was not there before the link made them look for the gaze of the other by instinct.

“Ready to bite me?” was all the girl of emerald eyes occurred to ask, hesitating once he appreciated a different sparkle in those eyes usually dark and opaque, letting go unnoticed the suppressed chuckle of the blonde fox and the hit her mentor gave him at his imprudence.

Sasuke couldn’t help to smirk, suddenly after hearing she was still affected by his presence reminded him that this was the same girl from just moments ago. Small and curious, brave but insecure.

“Relax little witch, I’m not going to suck the life out of you” he chuckled, his smile for a moment taking away her breath before responding to his comment:

“Healer!” she reprimanded outraged since she had yet to be familiarized to the ‘witch’ term that she for inertia related to a nature much different to hers.

“Alright, healer, listen up” he humored her. “I need you alive and by my side, do you hear me?”

Sakura remained lost in the depth of his words, unable of speak before the meaning implicit in his words, assuring her without realizing that he would protect her and take care of her. He, an immortal being she only believed capable of destroying and taking away her happiness, her home.

She suddenly smiled without being able to help it, because somehow, he now knew the words she desired to listen.

Now that the trust between the had strengthened, they reunited with the priestess and the fox to discuss more of the information both Tsunade and Sasuke had suspected from the beginning: Since the vampires’ clans had dispersed, many of them roamed the villages Naruto was not able to protect with the amount of clones he could keep to protect said villages.

Fortunately, Naruto had the data of those locations in order for them to part straight to them and execute Sasuke’s plan to impose justice on the souls that profaned his ancestors’ ideologies. With the help of Sakura’s powers, his abilities would increase and he would be able to battle a mayor number of his kind.

But before he could carry out said plan, Sasuke turned to Sakura.

“You might want to change your clothes before the bite” her partner offered, running a quick look at her attire and noticing the dress she wore was a high collar and clear colored dress.

Well, that was thoughtful of him, she thought as she took her hands at the flaps level and blushed. Nodding, she retired herself before the accomplice looks of her mentor and the fox behind Sasuke’s back.

Once in the room Tsunade had given her, Sakura got rid of her clothes, setting them aside and folded beside her bed as she rummaged through her belongings in search for something adequate to wear since apparently high collars and clear colors were out of the question. Not that she expected to lose much blood, but without a doubt it would be inevitable to bleed if what they were looking for was to get rid of the poison in her blood.

She took one of her hands to the mark on her skin, the temperature of her body rising since contrary to a vampire feeding from her with hunger, this would be a vampire —her partner, trying to save her.

Would it feel good? On that occasion because of the shock and fear of seeing that vampire fall at her feet soon after biting her, she had yet to prove if those stories about vampires and their captivating bites.

Taking the garment between her hands to her face in order to hide the strong blush on her face, Sakura widened her eyes when she realized what she was imagining.

This was definitely that rice wine’s fault!

And their linked souls’, or maybe his mysterious personality, or maybe his rather attractive physique, or maybe—

“Are you done?” Sasuke’s voice called for her, and it took Sakura a second to realize he was opening the door of her room.

Turning around in alarm, she clung with strength to the garment between her hands to hide her half-naked figure.

“That’ll do” he pointed out as he entered the room without waiting for the scandalized human-healer’s reply. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, he raised his stare towards her and met her bright red face. “What are you waiting for? Come here” she heard him command her and suddenly a slight stitch of deception dawned on her.

Had she been too pretentious to think she might provoke a reaction on him, who most certainly must have had plenty of partners before her?

She could not be any further from the truth, though.

When she took a seat beside him, looking straight ahead at the time she reprimanded herself because of her childish thought, she decided to avoid the topic and ask instead:

“Do you plan on biting me here?”

“I thought you might appreciate some modesty” her partner reasoned, shrugging as he glanced at the girl by his side.

“You’re hardly giving me any modesty after entering without permission to my room” he appreciated the pout forming on her features with amusement.

“You’re fine like this” he tried to loosen her a bit, but seeing how she remained tense and with that childish pout adorning her face, he decided to tease her. “This way, I can see better the flow of your blood” he confessed as he moved away with one of his hands the pink locks off her neck’s mark and he was once more assaulted by the peculiar feeling that provoked him exposing that part of her skin.

Suddenly he was the one being affected by the situation. There, inside that small room impregnated with her essence, with her completely vulnerable and at his disposition to take her and explore at his will, surrounded by the reinforced tender and captivating feeling their linked souls provoked.

He swallowed and unwittingly started to lean to her, who soon started to beat faster and Sasuke could only grunt on a whole different tone to the way she had heard him before.

The switch was pushed and unexpectedly his wide hand took her face and turned her towards him. Her emerald eyes opening wide when she noticed the dark look on him turn dull and her lips parted lightly when instead of leaning to her side, Sasuke brought his face close to hers.

Expectant, her breathing stopped, but her heartbeat sprinted inside her chest once she noted their distances fading.

She had closed her eyes with anticipation when she heard him talk:

“You might want to hold on to me for support”

Sakura let go of the air she had been holding in when she heard the raw tone in which he called her and opening her eyes once more, she met with the characteristic scarlet eyes that distinguished his kind, but instead of frightening her, she felt captivated by them.

“Yes” was her faint response.

With her breath striking his elaborated one, she then turned fully to his direction, forgetting at the moment of the garment she had been holding between her hands to cover the light gown of delicate and loose suspenders, one of them falling at mid arm length and the other holding the cloth’s weight, exposing a little of the subtle volume of her chest.

She raised her delicate arms to circle his neck, and this time Sasuke couldn’t help to pant against her neck once he was wrapped in her fragrance and the wave of sensations, she provoked on him.

Sakura felt his face graze her neck and in an unexpected movement, she felt a warmness sink into her skin.

A small whimper escaped her lips and she tightened the grip she had on his neck and back, only to sigh in relief when the warmness of his mouth started to extract from her what she assumed must have been the poison that inhibited of all her faculties, since she had felt that increasing heaviness she had noted the last days to start dissolving.

In its place, due to the sensation of comfort that invaded her, she leaned closer to him and exposed more of her neck. Sighs and elaborated breaths escaping from them with each passing second. A warm sensation descending through her neck and back, but Sakura paid no attention to it as she felt Sasuke reclinate her on the bed, his arms supporting at her sides and it was then that Sakura felt a slight change.

Frowning when she felt a pricking on her temple, Sakura emitted a whimper and opened her eyes feeling dizzy.

“Wait, Sasuke…” her voice was barely a whisper now that she felt her head start to lighten, but after a peculiar suck from him, Sakura shivered and raised her voice “I said stop, you damn leech!”

What happened after that was quickly enough to figure out the details, but suddenly Sasuke was leaning against the wall beside the door as it opened with shock only to give entrance to an alarmed Tsunade.

Looking with amazement at the panting woman, she returned the glance with confusion, one of her hands cupping on the area Sasuke had been so engrossed. Now, both expectants looked at her face with surprise.

And that was because not only had she pushed a vampire of superhuman strength away like he was a feather, but also now, on her forehead, that mark that not only indicated her as a descendant of an immortal but also as a Senju, adorned her.

The revelation of the peculiar origin of the unusual human causing chills to the two spectators.

#ssm19d11 #ssm19 #ssfanfiction #ssfic #ssfanfic #sasusaku #joy writes #vampire ss #two left to go and still unsure if i should write smut for it #good monday i guess

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amandajoyce118 · 5 years

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Captain Marvel Easter Eggs And References

My goal for Easter egg lists is always to get them up within a week of a movie’s opening, or the same night that a television episode airs, but I’ve had an injured wrist/thumb that has made writing difficult. So, Captain Marvel hasn’t been delayed because of a busy life, but because I’ve been trying to rest my hand. I’ve been wearing a brace and thumb stabilizer for most of my day for the last few weeks, so I should be getting back to normal soon.

As usual with my Easter egg lists, this list assumes you’ve seen the movie, and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for that matter. There will be spoilers. You have been warned. I’m sticking mainly with comic and MCU references, so you won’t find a lot of pop culture ones here. If you want someone to give you the 90s rundown, I’m sure you can find it online.

The Stan Lee Tribute

Every MCU movie opens with the same sequence, highlighting the heroes that are part of the universe. This is the first Marvel movie to hit theaters since Stan Lee’s death, so they did something a little different. That sequence instead highlights him. The color scheme and the background text remains the same, but none of the actors are there, just shots of Stan Lee from different movies and red carpet events. I won’t lie. I’ve teared up a little every time I’ve seen it.

Hala

Both the name of the main planet and the capital city in the Kree Empire. MCU fans saw it before in Guardians of the Galaxy, though it was a bit darker and didn’t seem as tech-friendly. It makes me wonder just what happened in the years in between.

“There are tabs for that.”

Not an Easter egg, but a tiny bit of world building. Going into this movie, I think most people knew that Carol Danvers AKA Vers was really from Earth. But, I find it interesting that Yon-Rogg is so quick to offer Carol a Kree sleeping aid. It reinforces the idea we’ve seen on Agents of SHIELD that human and Kree physiology are relatively compatible.

Supreme Intelligence

Less of an Easter egg and more of a direct comic book adaptation, the Supreme Intelligence is also an A.I. in the comics. There, it’s made up of all of the minds of the smartest and most distinguished Kree after they day. That’s presumably what Yon-Rogg’s “join the collective” comment meant in the movie as well. The idea of it becoming the person you most admire is created for the movie.

Carol’s Inhibitor

The comics have tried many different inhibitors on characters with super powers over the years. The X-Men usually have collars. Alien species like their neural inhibitors though, which is what Carol appears to have when she trains with Yon-Rogg. Kudos to the MCU for keeping their tech consistent across movies and TV since it appears to be the same type as what Quake ends up with in the future on Agents of SHIELD. Interesting that Daisy’s is embedded in her brain tissue while Carol’s is on the surface of her skin. Something changed in the decades in between - probably the fact that Carol was able to disable hers. Then again, so was Daisy.

Starforce

This is considered a group of supervillains in the comics, so perhaps movie fans might have expected their turn if they knew that. A few of the members are different in the comics. For example, Yon-Rogg isn’t a member, but Ronan the Accuser is. ScreenRant did a good job at running down who’s who in the movie version since they’re all comic book characters. You can see that here.

Torfa

Torfa is a relatively new creation in the planets. It first popped up in 2014, which tells you the movie pulls from a lot of the new comic book continuity. Like the movie, Torfa was a planet where refugees lived. Also like the movie, not all of them survived the hostile atmosphere, though in the comics, it was chemicals, not Kree that were hostile. Carol also had it out with Starlord’s comic book dad there.

Talos

Talos is in the comics, but apparently he’s also a Star Trek reference. Not a Trekkie, though I do find the franchise interesting, so I’ll direct you to this article for a full explanation.

Carol’s Look

One of Carol’s most iconic looks in the comics is her mohawk. She gets it for the movie in the form of her helmet keeping her hair in place. Her uniform, with the green color scheme, is one all of Starforce uses, but it’s also a nod to the original Captain Marvel’s uniform in the comics. In fact, the color changing of her suit appears to be a nod to a few other costumes she had in the comics too. The red, yellow, and blue came later. I’m just glad we didn’t have her bathing-suit like uniform of her Ms. Marvel days.

Maria “Photon” Rambeau

Maria is created for the movie (her daughter is from the comics), and though we learn more about her much later, we see her callsign on her jet during Carol’s early flashbacks. Photon is actually one of the many superhero names Monica Rambeau uses in the comics. Nice touch.

Carol’s Family

Carol’s family flashbacks only ever show us her brother and her father. We don’t get much of an idea about her homelife other than her relatives not wanting her to be as rough as the boys. That’s very much a part of her comic book background. Her father favors her brother so much that, even though Carol has the better grades growing up, he only pays for her brother to get a university education. Carol joins the Air Force for the free tuition and to prove she’s as good as the boys to her father. (It’s also interesting that we never see her mother since a recent retcon in the comics has her mother as a Kree refuge and Carol’s birth name as Car-El as she’s half Kree.) It’s also interesting to note that a lot of Carol’s major stories in her classic comics involve her losing her memories and having to figure out who she is all over again.

Lieutenant Trouble

It’s a cute nickname for Monica with Carol’s military background. It’s also a nod to another little girl Carol new in the comics with the same nickname and Monica being a police officer in the comics when she’s introduced as an adult. She’s also from Louisiana, just like the Rambeaus are in the movie.

Dr. Lawson

We’ve got some genderbending going on for the new generation. In the comics, the original Captain Marvel is Mar-Vell, a Kree soldier sent to Earth to monitor the planet as it gets destroyed by Galactus. Mar-Vell comes to sympathize with humanity and turns on the Kree to help the humans. He also takes the guise of a scientist with NASA named Dr. Lawson while he’s undercover. Sounds familiar, except her Lawson and Mar-Vell are a woman and the race she sympathizes with are the Skrulls. The original story also had Mar-Vell and Carol ending up in an accident with a piece of Kree technology that left Carol with his powers. I love the twist on this origin story. There’s plenty of nods to the source material without Carol’s jealousy of Mar-Vell from the comics, and without her playing second fiddle to a heroic dude for a long time.

Project PEGASUS

In the comics, Project PEGASUS is a unit researching alternative energy sources. It also acts as a prison for those with superpowers. We’ve actually seen mention of it in the MCU before. For the MCU, it was created in the 1940s when Howard Stark found the Tesseract in the ocean while looking for Captain America. It was a joint venture between the Airforce, NASA, and what would become SHIELD to study it. It gets a mention in a few of the tie-in comics for the MCU movies, but specifically, Tony Stark mentions he wants files on it to JARVIS when he’s going through his dad’s stuff in Iron Man 2. A sign for it also appears on the wall in a SHIELD facility in Agents of SHIELD.

Blockbuster And Radio Shack

A+ choices for the businesses for Carol to run into. Two companies that are essentially extinct 20 years later, but were cutting edge at the time. (From what I understand the Blockbuster scenes were actually filmed at the last Blockbuster left in the US. It’s in Arizona. Go figure.)

True Lies

True Lies gets noticed in the video store because Carol shoots the standee, but the spy movie is known for a fighter jet sequence, and it was the first true “blockbuster” movie because it cost over $100 million to make - unheard of in 1994. The fighter jet prop used in it was also repurposed and used in The Avengers, so it’s like Easter egg inception here.

Universal Translator

So much is made about alien races speaking English in the MCU. In the comics, pretty much anyone traveling through space has a universal translator built into their ship or their helmets. This one off mention from Carol reminds us of that, though she’s likely speaking English anyway.

Coulson the Skrull

Phil Coulson appears as a rookie agent in the 90s. I’d wager this is one of his first big jobs since he’s still on evidence collection. You know him from the Iron Man and Avengers movies as well as, you know, Agents of SHIELD. I like that he’s the one a Skrull simulates instead of Fury because there were so many theories about who could be a Skrull when they were announced for this movie. It’s also a nice misdirect from Marvel that there’s concept art out there of Fury’s transformation from a Skrull, but not Coulson’s.

And, I mean, Nick Fury’s not an Easter egg, so I don’t need to remind you he basically started the MCU with Hulk and Iron Man, right? Though this movie does make me worry about his driving record in the MCU. He seems to end up in a lot of accidents.

Stan Lee And Mallrats

Stan Lee’s cameo is extra special because it’s also a nod to a real life cameo of his. How very meta. The script he’s holding on the train is for Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, where he really did say the line, “trust me, True Believers,” something he also said a lot in his editorials in the comics.

Kelly Sue Deconnick

When Carol gets off the train, she passes a woman with red hair and glasses in her walk. That’s Deconnick. She wrote the Captain Marvel comic book series a few years ago that this movie pulls a lot of its nods (and aesthetic) from. We can likely credit her with the surge in popularity Carol’s seen the last few years, and the reason she had a movie in development at all.

1989

In case there’s anything noteworthy for you in the year Carol ended up in Hala: Ron Perelman bought Marvel Entertainment Group, the massive X-Men Inferno story arc played out, the new Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD comic launched, and Jubilee made her comic book debut.

1995

Likewise, for Carol’s return to Earth: the Age of Apocalypse comics launched, Thor made his 400th comic book appearance, comic books like The Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man had landmark issues as well, and a bunch of Punisher comics were cancelled, only for Marvel to turn around and launch a new Punisher comic later in the year. The Skrull Kill Crew mini series also launched.

SHIELD Logo

Thanks, Carol for calling out the fact that a covert group shouldn’t put their logo on everything. Fans have been saying that for years. Also, nice touch that it’s not the sleek and modern logo we see in Agents of SHIELD, but the older one seen on the Wall of Valor in the MCU before.

“Smile for me.”

I know that Brie Larson was asked about this moment in an interview and said it wasn’t an Easter egg. But the fact that she was criticized so much by male fans for not smiling in promotional materials made me add this to the list.

SHIELD Medical Examiner

Nelson Franklin played him. He also appeared in an episode of Agents of SHIELD. Maybe they’re just relatives.

A “Full Bird Colonel”

Carol calls Fury this during their chat at Pancho’s. His military history before joining SHIELD is right in line with the comics. Of course, he was from New York, not Alabama there. He also says he likes the B’s and spent time in Budapest. Not the same mission as Hawkeye and Black Widow though, right?

“Just Fury”

Nick Fury also points out that he only goes by Fury. Not Nicholas. Not Nick. Just Fury. I intend on going back and finding when in the MCU someone calls him Nick to his face. Maybe it’s like a distress signal for him.

“You look like someone’s disaffected niece.”

Fury says this to Carol when he points out her clothes not fitting in on a secret base. But it reminded me of the comments about her looking like Emily VanCamp, who plays Peggy Carter’s niece Sharon.

The Welcome Wagon

Carol’s not familiar with the term, though Fury is. Probably because that’s what they call the intake program for new “assets” with SHIELD. That’s what Coulson eventually wants Skye to do when he adds her to his team in Agents of SHIELD.

Ronan The Accuser

You probably recognize Lee Pace’s character from Guardians of the Galaxy. In that movie, he was after a little purple gem that turned out to be the Power Stone. He’s a Kree purist, out to conquer neighboring lands and make sure the Kree stay in power. He’s not all that different here. His mention of coming back for the weapon and the woman at the end is likely a nod to him pursuing other Infinity Stones, even if it’s not clear that he knows what they are here. By the time of Guardians, he’s got whole rituals he’s participating in, which includes painting his face in Blue Kree blood. It doesn’t look like he’s quite that fanatical here. He does, however, inspire loyalty in Korath, who eventually works for him directly, which does make me wonder what happened to Yon-Rog after this and how much Korath told Ronan about their encounter with Carol on Earth as well.

“That’s a flerken.”

Goose likely gets his name from Top Gun, but he gets his alien identity from the comics. In the comics from a few years ago, Carol has a companion on her spaceship - a cat named Chewie. As Rocket Raccoon points out to her, “that’s no cat. That’s a flerken.” Like Talos, Rocket was right. Chewie ends up having a whole litter of flerkens. Goose just eats things and people at convenient times.

Women Flying Combat

Maria notes that women weren’t allowed to fly combat in 1989. That’s true. They weren’t allowed to fly combat until 1993, a few years before the movie is set. The first woman to get to after the ban lifted? That would be Jeannie M. Leavitt. Now Brigadier General Leavitt, she actually trained Brie Larson for her role in the film and appears in the new Air Force ads.

ASIS

The name given to Lawson’s new aircraft, as mentioned briefly by Maria, is ASIS. It’s a nod to Marvel’s Ultimate universe where that version of Captain Marvel developed it. Carol was his head of security, and his girlfriend, in that universe.

A Kree Blood Transfusion

We find out that when Carol was brought to Hala, she needed a blood transfusion to stay alive. I like this nod to GH-325 on Agents of SHIELD, but it does make me wonder why Carol was saved from going mad. Is it because that particular Kree on the series had something in his blood that made everyone end up with it driven to find the ancient city? Is it because Carol was already brainwashed into thinking she was Kree? It’s interesting that Kree blood often comes with messing with memories though.

A Kree Imperial Cruiser

Mar-Vell much have had some military connections when she left Hala and came to Earth if she had a cruiser. We’ve seen them before in the MCU commanded by Ronan’s people. The design here is basically the same, but again, it looks like she’s got more tech, likely because the scientific nature of her work. It does make me wonder if she ever ran into the other smaller ships stationed near Earth that were monitoring the planet for Inhuman activity. (Remember the ones left in orbit to destroy the inhuman abominations in Agents of SHIELD?)

The Tesseract

The Space Stone certainly gets a lot of mileage in the MCU. Hydra wanted it, SHIELD experimented with it, Loki stole it, and now, we found out what else SHIELD was doing with it besides Fury’s secret weapons making team. Lawson, though we see her as part of the air force, is a SHIELD scientist. Like I said, PEGASUS is a joint effort by a few groups. She’s using the Tesseract for space travel though, like it should be.

Quadjet

Nice touch that Carol and Maria use a quadjet to rescue the Skrulls. Why? Because just a decade later SHIELD is using the later model - a quinjet.

Carol Stopping The Warheads

This imagery, like a lot of what comes with Carol glowing and flying, is straight out of the comics. She actually flies into Earth’s atmosphere and slows a sentinel from crashing to Earth in one comic. It looks nearly exactly like this sequence, except, you know, there are other Avengers with her in the comics.

Sizzling Power Lines

We hear the crackle of electricity and see power moving along the lines when Carol brings Yon-Rogg to Earth. This looks to be a nod to how her power works in the comics. She doesn’t just magically produce photo blasts. She absorbs ambient energy from her surroundings to fuel herself. That’s why she doesn’t technically need to eat, or even why she doesn’t need to breathe in the vacuum of space. Her power converts energy around her to sources to sustain her.

Mother Flerken

This has to be a nod to the fact that MCU movies don’t drop F-bombs, though Samuel L. Jackson loves them.

Mar-Vell. Two Words.

Fury mistakenly calls Mar-Vell Marvel. Carol corrects him. That’s kind of how the Captain Marvel term came to be in an alternate universe in the comics though. No one could pronounce Mahr-Vell in the Ultimate universe, so people called him Captain Marvel.

“We found her, and we weren’t even looking.”

I know that this is a nod to Fury’s eventual gathering of the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye together. But this is also a reminder that for decades, SHIELD was seeking out people with powers. As Agents of SHIELD showed their audience, some of those people were then locked up and exploited by Hydra agents working undercover. SHIELD still likely has a lot of super powered skeletons in its closet.

Mid Credit Scene

What a surprise. Captain Marvel will show up after the pager is activated in Avengers: Endgame. We’re all surprised, right? (Sarcasm, I know.)

Special Thanks

During the credits, there are a slew of comic creators listed in the special thanks section. Among them are heavyweights like Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Waid, Ralph Macchio, Gene Conway, Jack Kirby, and Chris Claremont. I honestly missed that section the first time and didn’t read them fast enough to catch more. But they aren’t directly responsible for Captain Marvel, but instead had a huge effect on Marvel comics as a whole with massive runs for different properties.

Post Credit Scene

Goose coughing up that tesseract was necessary for Fury to later use to attempt to develop weapons, just like Hydra, in a secret SHIELD program that Captain America won’t like in The Avengers.

A few side notes:

Coulson’s Gut

To be perfectly honest, I feel like Coulson’s part was originally just a generic rookie SHIELD agent in the script. I think when they got the chance to add Clark Gregg to the cast, a few things changed, like this exchange between Fury and Carol about going with your gut instead of following orders. That has always been Coulson’s thing. And, even though Fury is always yelling at people to follow orders, it’s actually how he operates too. It’s why he’s always set up ways for himself, and his proteges, to work around the system. I like that it was touched on here since it’s such a big part of Agents of SHIELD.

Coulson’s Kree Knowledge

Does this create a plot hole? Coulson specifically remarks to Fury at the end of the movie that he heard a Kree took out his eye. But when Lady Sif made her appearance on Agents of SHIELD, Coulson had no visible reaction to her telling him that Kree were one of the blue skinned aliens she knows of. Also, does Coulson even know they were (mostly) blue? After all, he might not since his only face to face with a “Kree” was Carol. It makes me wonder if he suspected the alien that provided GH-325 was Kree all along. Obviously, this is just the kind of thing that happens when universes expand, and it can all be explained away with SHIELD’s use of their memory machine on him, but it still makes me wonder.

Fury And The Women Around Him

I love the theme in the MCU of Fury surrounding himself with powerful women. We’ve seen that Maria Hill is his right hand over and over - even when she was working for Stark. We also saw that he and Natasha Romanoff were close. He trusted her to do the dirty work Steve Rogers wouldn’t. We also know he trusted Sharon Carter and Melinda May to report to him directly during their spy work. Now, Carol Danvers inspires the Avengers Initiative and he invites Maria to work with him after spending one mission with her. I want to meet Fury’s mom. Because she must have been one hell of a woman.

That’s it. Anything I missed? Feel free to tell me because there’s no way I caught every Easter egg.

#captain marvel #marvel comics #marvel easter eggs #agents of shield #iron man #easter eggs

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